EXAMINING THE KARA-SU TREATY AND THE TURANI CORRIDOR FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR IRAN AND THE CAUCASUS SECURITY

Abstract

 The strategic area of Kara Su in the northwest of Iran was one of the areas where there was a dispute between Iran and Turkey regarding ownership, and it has yet to be investigated in any re- search. The importance of this area is due to the fact that the Re- publics of Azerbaijan and Armenia connect Iran and Turkey. The Ottoman government, Iran's most important Western neighbour, signed the first and second Erzurum treaties1 with Iran to settle territorial disputes, but the territorial disputes with Iran persisted. Today, the importance of the Kara Su Corridor for Iran is twofold regarding Turkey's plan to build the Turano Corridor. Based on this, it is necessary to examine the two countries' historical territorial disputes following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of the new Republic of Turkey, as well as the issues and measures that led to the separation of a region of Iran known as Kara Su. The goal of this study is to examine the Karabakh and Tur- ani Corridor crises, as well as their relationship with the interests of the region's countries, particularly Russia, China, and Iran, and ask why such a plan could become the basis for causing a major crisis in the Caucasus region.