Editing Foreign relations of Iran (section)

===Territorial disputes===
{{See also|Territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf}}
[[File:Iran southern caspian energy prospects 2004.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Southern Caspian Energy Prospects (portion of Iran). Country Profile 2004.]]

* Iran and [[Iraq]] restored diplomatic relations in 1990, but they are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their [[Iran–Iraq War|eight-year war]] concerning border demarcation, [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]], and freedom of navigation in and sovereignty over the [[Shatt al-Arab]] waterway.
* Iran governs and possesses [[Greater and Lesser Tunbs|two islands]] in the Persian Gulf claimed by the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]]: Lesser Tunb (which the UAE calls ''Tunb as Sughra'' in Arabic, and Iran calls ''Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek'' in Persian) and Greater Tunb (Arabic ''Tunb al Kubra'', Persian ''Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg'').
* Iran jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (Arabic ''Abu Musa'', Persian, ''Jazireh-ye Abu Musa''), over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions.
* The [[Caspian Sea#International disputes|Caspian Sea borders]] between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan are not yet determined, although this problem is set to be resolved peacefully in the coming years through slow negotiations. After the breakup of the USSR, the newly independent republics bordering the Caspian Sea claimed shares of territorial waters and the seabed, thus unilaterally abrogating the existing half-and-half USSR-Iran agreements which, like all other Soviet treaties, the republics had agreed to respect upon their independence. It has been suggested by these countries that the Caspian Sea should be divided in proportion to each bordering country's shoreline, in which case Iran's share would be reduced to about 13%. The Iranian side has expressed eagerness to know if this means that all Irano–Russian and –Soviet agreements are void, entitling Iran to claim territorial sovereignty over lands lost to Russia by treaties that the parties still consider ''vivant''. Issues between [[Russia]], Kazakhstan, and [[Azerbaijan]] were settled in 2003, but Iran does not recognize these agreements, on the premise that the international law governing open water can not be applied to the Caspian Sea, which is in fact a lake (a landlocked body of water). Iran has not pressed its Caspian territorial claims in recent years because it relies heavily on Russia's support in its nuclear-development battle with the West.