Editing Foreign relations of Iran (section)

===Post-war foreign policy and regional influence===
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[[File:Flickr - World Economic Forum - Mohammad Khatami - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2004.jpg|thumb|right|President [[Mohammad Khatami|Khatami]] (in office: 1997–2005) played a key role in repairing Iran's foreign relations with Europe.]]
Since the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Iran's new foreign policy has had a dramatic effect on its global standing. Relations with the [[European Union]] have dramatically improved, to the point where Iran is a major oil exporter and a trading partner with such countries as [[Italy]], France, and Germany. [[People's Republic of China|China]] and [[India]] have also emerged as friends of Iran; these three countries face similar challenges in the global economy as they industrialize, and consequently find themselves aligned on a number of issues.

Iran maintains regular diplomatic and commercial relations with [[Russia]] and the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|former Soviet Republics]]. Both Iran and Russia believe they have important national interests at stake in developments in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, particularly concerning energy resources from the Caspian Sea. The Islamic Republic of Iran accords priority to its relations with the other states in the region and with the rest of the Islamic world. This includes a strong commitment to the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC) and the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]. Relations with the states of the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] (GCC), especially with [[Saudi Arabia]], are characterized by rivalry and hostility. An unresolved territorial dispute with the [[United Arab Emirates]] concerning three islands in the Persian Gulf continues to mar its relations with these states. Iran has close [[Iran–Kuwait relations|relations with Kuwait]].