Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Sobhani Rules Out Azeri Corridor Through Armenia

YEREVAN — Iran’s Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, reiterated Iran’s position that the road connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhijevan cannot be controlled by other countries.

Any control, he stated, should be carried out within the framework of Armenia’s sovereignty. “We are against any corridor that would breach the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia,” Sobhani told reporters. “As we have always said, this goes against the interests of both Armenia and Iran.”

“And from what we have been told by the Armenian authorities, the border checkpoints [in Syunik] will be controlled by the relevant Armenian authorities and remain under Armenian sovereignty,” Sobhani added.

The “Zangezur corridor” sought by Baku would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave, as well as Turkey, through Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering Iran. Tehran fears that this would strip the Islamic Republic of its shared border with Armenia.

Iranian leaders appear to be seriously concerned about Russia’s latest push for the opening of such a corridor. During President Vladimir Putin’s August 18-19 visit to Baku, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Armenia of “sabotaging” a Russian-brokered 2020 agreement to build a highway and railway in Syunik, connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. Yerevan rejected these accusations, made amid heightened tensions with Moscow.

The Tasnim news agency, linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, reported on Wednesday that Iran’s ambassador in Moscow had protested “the Russian Foreign Ministry’s stance on the Zangezur corridor.” Earlier this week, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official met with the Russian ambassador to Iran to reiterate Tehran’s strong opposition to any “geopolitical changes” in the region.

“Any threat from the North, South, East, or West to the territorial integrity of our neighbors, or redrawing of boundaries, is totally unacceptable and a red line for Iran,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Thursday. Sobhani cited Araghchi’s tweet when speaking to journalists.

Baku wants the transit of people and goods through Syunik to be exempt from Armenian border controls. Yerevan has rejected this demand, insisting that it cannot compromise on Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.