On Aug. 12, the Caspian Sea littoral states — Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan — signed what has been described as a historic accord on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Controversy over the details of the convention has not subsided, however, and the issue remains the talk of the town in Tehran. On Aug. 15, pro-government papers once again put the spotlight on the pact and went the extra mile in its defense, dismissing claims that Iran ceded its share of the Caspian Sea to Russia and other littoral states.

Days before the convention was signed, reports circulated on Persian-language social media that Tehran was set to offer concessions on its share of the inland lake. Those reports were relying on claims that in older agreements Iran had possessed 50% of the Caspian Sea, but that it was now losing a significant portion to primarily the Russians. The fall of the Soviet Union led to the creation of new independent republics such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, each of which now claim shares of the Caspian Sea as littoral states, disrupting the previous understanding of the lake as equally shared by Iran and the Soviet Union.

Iran's Foreign Ministry was quick to respond, saying what was agreed upon in the historic pact had not touched upon the respective shares of littoral states. The ministry said the convention stressed the sovereignty of the lake and prohibited any foreign military presence there.