Explaining the Position of Iran in Comparison with the Extensive Influence of Global Actors in the Strategic South Caucasus Region

Regardless of political-security issues, the South Caucasus, serves as a gateway for cultural, economic-trade, and political geography connections. Many analysts confirm to the region’s geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic significance, emphasizing that in order to reap the benefits of the region, countries must broaden their influence in many areas. This study attempted to clarify Iran’s significance in light of the wide-ranging effect of world actors and explore the nature of each actor’s role-playing in the South Caucasus strategic region. To this end, by using documentary and library research methods, 12 countries, entities, organizations, or unions among regional and extra-regional actors were identified, and the roles and actions that each of the actors play in the region were explained in accordance with numerous publications and studies. According to the findings, the 12 identified secondary and extra-regional actors’ actions are divided into three primary categories: economic-trade, military, strategic, security, and intelligence, and geopolitics. Furthermore, an analysis of South Caucasus business transactions revealed that Iran’s position as one of the regional countries with common borders with two major South Caucasus countries, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, has weakened and requires reinforcement in the region when compared to Russia and Turkey as regional actors, the US, China, European countries, and Israel as extra-regional actors that are mostly G20 members.