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US Congressional report says Iranâ€™s regional policy is directed against Azerbaijan

13 July 2010 09:28 (UTC +04:00)

Concerns and Policy Responsesâ€ issue, APAâ€™s Washington DC correspondent has learned. The report was prepared for Members and Committees of Congress.

Mr. Katzman reminded that, in July 2001, Iranian warships and combat aircraft threatened a British Petroleum (BP) ship on contract to Azerbaijan out of an area of the Caspian that Iran considers its own.

â€œThe United States called that action provocative, and it is engaged in border security and defense cooperation with Azerbaijan directed against Iran (and Russia). The United States successfully backed construction of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, intended in part to provide alternatives to Iranian oilâ€.

According to the Congressional report, the Obama Administration has not changed the Bush Administrationâ€™s characterization of Iran as a â€œprofound threat to U.S. national security interests,â€ a perception generated not only by Iranâ€™s nuclear program but also by its military assistance to armed groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the Palestinian group Hamas, and to Lebanese Hezbollah. â€œMany in the Obama Administration view Iran, as the Bush Administration did, as one of and perhaps the key national security challenges facing the United Statesâ€.

The reporter thinks that Iranâ€™s armed forces are still extensive but they are widely considered relatively combat ineffective against a well-trained, sophisticated military such as that of the United States or a regional power such as Turkey.

He considers that mistrust between the United States and Iranâ€™s Islamic regime has run deep for almost three decades. Some argue that, no matter who is in power in Tehran, the United States and Iran have a common long-term interest in stability in the Persian Gulf and South Asia regions.