4

While the end of the Second World War initiated a time of open conflict between the Soviet Union and Pahlavi Iran, the Caucasian borderlands experienced significant evolutions since 1945 which moved beyond the geopolitical tensions of the early Cold War. In the 1960s-1970s, the thaw in bilateral relations allowed for a diplomatic rapprochement that built upon cultural, linguistic and historical ties between the South Caucasian republics and Northern Iran, even though the Islamic Revolution stoked up tensions in the area once again. The fall of the Soviet Union radically changed the context of the relationship, but also demonstrated a persistent trend in Iran-Caucasus interactions to feed on political, diplomatic and military fractures.