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This working group examines regional stability pertaining to
international security and energy supply security issues. Whereas Iran
is crucial for regional stability in the Middle East, the differences
between American and European approaches towards Iran appear to have
widened again since the controversy about the "critical dialogue" in
the mid-1990s. The United States considers Iran as a source of
proliferation and terrorism. The European Union seeks to develop a
possibility for Iran to serve as a key player in regional stability and
economic development (including service as a transit territory and
provider of European natural gas supply). The deployment of American
troops in the neighboring countries on Iran's northern and eastern
borders underlines the necessity of a transatlantic dialogue that
addresses common and conflicting interests. The categorization of Iran
as a member of the "Axis of Evil" underscores the need for an open
dialogue about the possible roles that Iran could assume in the fragile
surrounding region.
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