Greece, which has long had friendly relations with Iran, is poised to play a key role in distributing Iranian to gas to Europe, if Iranian sanctions are lifted. With Iran in the equation, the energy geopolitics of the region – and thereby the rest of Europe – will look very different from what they are today, write Christos Brakoulias, Constantine Levoyannis and Dr. Angelos Gkanoutas-Leventis of the Greek Energy Forum (GEF) in Brussels.

Greece and Iran share much more than the burden of undergoing tough negotiations in the past years. Over the past 30 years, the two nations have enjoyed excellent diplomatic relations in the fields of energy, security, education and culture. Historically, Greece has been a bridge between the EU and Iran, but also between Washington and Tehran. Iran, on the other hand ranked first among the suppliers of oil in Greece during the period 2006-2011, and was supplying oil to Greece on extremely favorable credit terms of approximately 35 percent – a great financial aid to Greece.

This indirect financial aid continued right until sanctions were imposed by the EU on Iran and a ban was placed on the import of Iranian oil in 2012, a policy designed to apply pressure on Iran with regards to its alleged covert pursuit of nuclear weapons. The current developments on this front could provide Greece and Iran with a rare opportunity to bolster their bilateral relations and play a strategic role in the region.

"Greece is aspiring to become a major energy player in the region, by becoming a transit country as well as a producer of natural gas for the European market"

Recently, at the end of April, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed this view, stating that he sees no barrier to the enhancement of bilateral relations between Greece and Iran. He underlined Greece’s abundant capacities in various fields, while calling for the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries.The Greek government, through its newly appointed Ambassador to Tehran, Georgios Aifantis, replied that “Iran is a key country in the region and Athens is determined to be Tehran’s friend and strategic partner.”

Where should Greece and Iran’s interests lie? In energy cooperation, of course, but in order to develop this link, each country’s situation needs to be examined separately.

For the complete article, please see Energy Post.