Iran's new geopolitics: heartland of the world's corridors.

Iran is located in a unique geographical position, acting as a bridge among Africa, Europe and Asia, connecting India and Russia in the north–south corridor; connecting Asia and Europe in the East–West corridor; connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and Western Europe in the TRACECA Corridor; connecting Southeast Asia to northwestern Europe in the South Asian Corridor; the link among ECO members as well as Central Asian countries to the high seas and the Persian Gulf is formalized in the Ashgabat agreement. In fact, Iran has been identified as one of the most central geographical nodal points in the world, playing a combination of geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-transit roles in Southwest Asia. The main focal point of the present article is the systematic study of Iran's role in international corridors. This is done from a geopolitical perspective and since research in this area is relatively recent we are submitting this analysis as a starting point for a wider discussion about Iran's role in the new world order which is central to recent studies of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]