“Only Armenia and Iran think alike about the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor,’” Mehdi Sobhani, the Iranian ambassador in Yerevan, told a news conference. “Only Iran supports Armenia, opposing the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor.’ Of all the countries in the region, only Iran stands by Armenia on this issue. We have no disagreements with Armenia on the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor.’”
“We are in favor of unblocking roads within Armenia, but that must be done on the basis of respecting national and territorial sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are against any road that follows the logic of a corridor,” he said.
The diplomat echoed statements regularly made by top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in recent years. The land corridor demanded by Baku would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering Iran. The Islamic Republic fears that the corridor would strip it of its common border with Armenia.
Irania’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told a visiting senior aide to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on February 2 that Tehran remains strongly opposed to any changes in the borders of regional states. Aliyev renewed last month his threats to open the corridor by force.
Sobhani again declined to say how Iran would respond to such military action feared by many in Armenia.
“We will make every effort to prevent a new conflict,” he said. “If there is an attack now, I believe Armenia has the defense capacity and ability to defend itself. Do not underestimate the defense capabilities of your country.”
Baku accuses Yerevan of not complying with a relevant provision of a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. It commits Armenia to opening rail and road links between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan. The Armenian government maintains that this does mean not people and cargo transported to and from Nakhichevan must be exempt from Armenian border checks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also accused Armenia last August of “sabotaging” the truce accord, sparking angry reactions from Iran.
“We have made our position very clear to Russia and other countries,” Sobhani said when asked whether Moscow and Tehran still have differences on the corridor issue.
“Some countries are trying to raise suspicions that Iran has compromised on its position on the Zangezur issue,” the envoy went on. “The Zangezur issue is linked to our security. We are steadfast in protecting the national security of our country.”