Iran Reiterates Strong Support for Armenia’s Territorial Integrity

YEREVAN — Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan held a phone conversation with his newly appointed Iranian counterpart, Majid Takht Ravanchi, late on Thursday to congratulate him on his new position.

In a post on X, Kostanyan expressed his appreciation for “Iran’s support of Armenia’s territorial integrity” and mentioned that they “exchanged views on recent developments” regarding this issue. He provided no additional details.

“I reiterated our strong desire to strengthen relations with all our neighbors,” Takht Ravanchi tweeted shortly afterward. “I also expressed our principled position on the inviolability of international borders. I gladly accepted [Kostanyan’s] invitation to visit Yerevan.”

Earlier this week, other senior Armenian officials thanked Iran for reaffirming its strong opposition to land corridors passing through Armenia, in response to Russia’s recent push for the opening of such transport links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sparked controversy in Tehran with his August 19 statement accusing Armenia of “sabotaging” a Russian-brokered agreement to build a highway and railway connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan via Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering Iran. The Islamic Republic fears that such a corridor, which Baku wants to be extraterritorial, would cut off Iran’s common border with Armenia.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned Russia’s ambassador in Tehran last week to warn Moscow against contributing to any “geopolitical changes” in the region. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted on September 5 that these changes represent a “red line for Iran.” Senior Iranian lawmakers and government-linked media outlets also openly criticized Moscow in the following days.

On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the “anti-Russian information campaign” in Iran and denied posing any “threats to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia.” Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow had provided the Iranian side with “all the necessary clarifications on this matter.”

Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reportedly received similar assurances from his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday. Ahmadian was also received by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Putin did not mention Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links in his opening remarks at the meeting.