Iranian Foreign Minister says Zangezur corridor issue removed from agenda

The issue of the Zangezur corridor has been removed from the agenda, as it concerns a transit road under Armenian sovereignty, but Tehran “has reasons for concern” and is therefore monitoring the situation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi said on Telegram.

"The issue of (Zangezur. — Ed.) corridor has been completely set aside. We are talking about a transit road that will be created under the authority of Armenia, within its jurisdiction and on its territory... by an American-Armenian company that will be registered in Armenia under Armenian law," the minister wrote.

Arakchi noted that Iran “has its own reasons for concern,” namely the possible participation of an American company in this project. At the same time, he stressed that any foreign presence in the region could have negative consequences for peace and stability in the region, which Tehran constantly discusses with Baku and Yerevan.

Nevertheless, the minister noted that so far, the fundamental positions of the Iranian side have been observed, the Islamic Republic is monitoring the situation, and consultations will continue.

On August 10, the deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, an elite unit of the Iranian Armed Forces) for political affairs, General Yadollah Javani, said that by trusting the US, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had made the same mistake as Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, Tehran will defend its security and national interests from the “Zangezur” project by any means necessary, so the “American dream” of a US presence on Iran's northern borders will never become a reality.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said that Iran opposes the creation of a Trump-backed corridor through Armenia that would connect Nakhchivan with Azerbaijan. He added that the Zangezur corridor is not just “land” that can be easily leased, as it is part of the state territory. According to him, the expansion of US influence in the region could lead to the expansion of NATO's influence throughout the South Caucasus, which could become a “snake” between Iran and Russia. Velayati stressed that Tehran would not allow this to happen.

“Trump's route”

On Friday in Washington, the leaders of the US, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, Donald Trump, Nikol Pashinyan, and Ilham Aliyev, signed a joint declaration on the peaceful settlement of the conflict between Yerevan and Baku.

One of the agreements reached is the “Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity” project, which, among other things, aims to ensure transport links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan autonomy through the territory of Armenia.

According to Pashinyan, the implementation of the “Trump Route” will be the largest investment program in the history of modern Armenia.

He specified that the project concerns not only the railway, but also potential oil and gas pipelines, power lines, and internet cables that will pass through the territory and provide revenue to the Armenian state budget.

Pashinyan also claimed that the implementation of the initiative will provide Iran with a railway connection from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea, and Russia with a railway connection to the Islamic Republic.

Reprinted from https://ria.ru/