[1] It was inaugurated in October 1970 in Astara by Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Nikolai Podgorny, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
[2] In 1971–1979, Southern Caucasus republics of the Soviet Union were supplied through this pipeline by natural gas from Iran.
[3] Soviets, in return, agreed to transfer the technology of heavy machinery manufacturing, which led to the foundation of Machine Sazi Arak and to construct Esfahan Steel Complex.
On 11 November 2009, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and National Iranian Gas Company signed a memorandum according to which Azerbaijani will supply 500 million cubic meters of natural gas per year starting from 2010.
The pipe diameter is 1,020 millimetres (40 in) and it had original capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year at 55 standard atmospheres (5,600 kPa).