Relationship dossier
Cyprus
Iran
Relationship assessment
Bilateral agreements and diplomatic engagement, constrained by EU sanctions on Iran
Cyprus toward Iran
+20Cyprus pursued bilateral cooperation during President Nicos Anastasiades’s 2016 visit to Tehran, when the two governments signed agreements. As an EU member, Cyprus also implements EU sanctions on Iran, limiting the scope for economic engagement.
Iran toward Cyprus
+30Iran signed bilateral cooperation agreements with Cyprus during President Nicos Anastasiades’s 2016 visit to Tehran, providing a concrete basis for cooperation across several fields.
Overall relationship
+25The relationship has included high-level engagement and bilateral agreements, while EU sanctions on Iran constrain economic ties. The extent to which the agreements have produced sustained cooperation is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Cyprus and Iran have pursued bilateral cooperation, including agreements signed during Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades’s 2016 visit to Tehran. Cyprus also implements European Union sanctions on Iran, which constrain economic engagement. The relationship combines concrete diplomatic cooperation with the effects of broader EU policy.
Key developments
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades visited Tehran, where Cyprus and Iran signed bilateral cooperation agreements.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the bilateral agreements are unclear.
- The extent of current bilateral cooperation under EU sanctions is unclear.