Armenian-Iranian Defense Cooperation Discussed in Tehran

TEHRAN — Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsian who is on an official visit in the Islamic Republic of Iran met with Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran Hossein Dehghan on January 31.

The top military official of Iran welcomed the Armenian delegation and congratulated on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Armed Forces. Stressing the high level of Armenian-Iranian cooperation, the Defense Ministers of both countries expressed readiness to further deepen and expand bilateral relations.

Defense Minister Dehqan reaffirmed Iran’s desire to deepen relations with Armenia and warned against attempts to resolve regional conflicts by force. “It is not acceptable to resort to force to solve regional problems and the Islamic Republic of Iran will spare no effort to solve these problems,” the Iranian Press TV channel quoted him as telling Sargsian.

Use of force for conflict resolution has already “proved to be futile,” Dehqan said, according to the Mehr news agency.

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Sargsian and Dehqan discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and agreed on the need for its “solely negotiated settlement.”

Vigen Sargsyan noted that it is necessary to organize regular meetings and develop an agenda of consultations so as to be able to deepen Armenian-Iranian relations.

Apart from bilateral issues, the sides also discussed issues of regional and international security and settlement of conflicts.

Referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and highlighting the efforts aimed at ensuring regional peace and stability, the sides emphasized the importance of exclusively peaceful and negotiated settlement of the conflict.

Dehqan said that Armenian-Iranian ties have been deepening “in all fields” in recent years. The Iranian general spoke of “cultural and historical bonds” between the two neighboring nations, reported Mehr.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan said Sargsian and Dehqan “expressed readiness to expand and develop bilateral relations.” The Armenian minister was reported to say that the two sides should “work out a mechanism for periodical meetings and consultations” for that purpose.

Sargsian referred to defense industry as a potential area of Armenian-Iranian military cooperation when he visited Tehran’s Malek Ashtar University engaged in military research later in the day.

Afterwards, the Armenian delegation also visited “Iran Electronics Industries” specialized in engineering and implementing technological solutions for the defense spectrum.