iran-rejects-us-control-over-armenia-azerbaijan-corridor

Tehran has accused Washington of using a proposed Armenia-Azerbaijan transit corridor to isolate both Iran and Russia, warning that it would threaten regional stability and undermine its security interests.

 

On Friday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and US President Donald Trump signed an agreement in Washington to establish the Zangezur transport corridor. The route would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan through a narrow strip of land in southern Armenia, running along the border with Iran.

 

Under the deal, the United States would manage the corridor under Armenian sovereignty through a 99-year land lease, subletting it to a consortium for construction and operations.

 

While Iran has said it welcomes peace agreements between Yerevan and Baku, it “vehemently” opposes placing the corridor under US control. Iranian officials argue the project would cut Tehran off from Armenia, enable a foreign military and commercial presence in the South Caucasus, and disrupt the region’s balance.

 

Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the corridor as a geopolitical manoeuvre by the United States and Israel to weaken the Islamic Republic, sever its connection with the Caucasus, and impose a land blockade on both Iran and Russia.

 

He said the plan formed part of a broader NATO-backed strategy, supported by pan-Turkic movements, to shift Western focus from Ukraine to the Caucasus.

 

“The Caucasus is one of the most sensitive geographical points in the world, and this corridor will not be a transit route in Trump’s possession but a graveyard for his mercenaries,” Velayati said. He added that Russia is also “strategically against” the project.

 

Moscow has said it supports efforts aimed at achieving stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus and normalising relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

 

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that the most effective solutions are those developed by countries in the region and their immediate neighbours namely Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

 

She noted that trilateral agreements signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war remain valid, and confirmed that Armenia’s border with Iran continues to be guarded by Russian border forces under a 1992 treaty.