In recent decades, there has been fruitful cooperation in Russian-Iranian relations on the whole. However, bilateral cooperation in the energy field is still underdeveloped and lags far behind the possible level. Several factors contributed to this. First of all, the tough US sanctions resumed in 2018 against the Iranian economy do not allow Russian oil companies to expand their activities in Iran. In addition, since both countries are major exporters of oil and gas, there is competition between them to control the pipelines, especially in the Caspian region and Central Asia. If the sanctions are lifted, competition for European energy markets will also arise between the countries. However, besides the obvious aspect of competition, there are great opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector. Russia and Iran together control a significant share of the world's oil and gas natural resources, and if their policies are coordinated, both countries can play a vital role in world energy diplomacy. It should also be noted that a project to create a common energy system of the Caspian region has been successfully implemented in recent years.
Iran; Russia; energy; oil; gas; Caspian Sea.