Analyzing the Role of Natural Gas Export on the Development of Regional Relations between Iran and South Asia

Today, energy is considered as one of the most important geopolitical variables in the international system. Energy as the cornerstone of the survival and development of societies in the 21st century with the ever-increasing growth of the world's population, South Asian countries are facing an energy shortage due to the rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuels. Due to the economic and political effects caused by such a shortage, improving the supply of fossil energy is one of the important priorities of regional governments. In this article, the main goal is to examine the role of natural gas export on the development of Iran's regional relations in South Asia. Therefore, the main question raised is what is the role of natural gas export in the development of Iran's regional relations with South Asia? Therefore, with the qualitative method and the nature of the descriptive-analytical method and with the use of library collection tools, as well as with the method of interviewing 15 experts related to the subject, which was done in an estimated and available method with theoretical saturation, the results have been obtained. The results of the research findings show that Iran has not been able to establish strong regional relations with this region due to its favorable geo-economic position, having natural gas resources and the need of South Asian countries for these resources.