Iran may join Caspian naval force

Moscow has proposed setting up a joint naval force of Caspian Sea countries. Iran is slated to join a Russian-proposed joint naval task force in the Caspian region should the legal status of the sea be clarified. The CasFor proposal is a joint effort among the five littoral states - Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - to combat terrorism, drug-trafficking, smuggling, and to conduct joint sea rescue operations. "It is necessary to determine the legal status of the Caspian Sea before successfully implementing the CasFor project," said Abbas Maleki, head of the International Institute for Caspian Studies in Tehran. Leaders of the five Caspian states are expected to gather for a summit in Tehran on October 16th to discuss how to divide the oil-rich sea bed. The Iranian analyst said in case of the sea's territorial division, Iran would no longer share a border with Russia and a joint military grouping would be meaningless for Tehran. Maleki ruled out the participation of other countries in the grouping but said the project could be implemented within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) or other existing security structures in Central Asia. CS/HGH/RA