Iran's Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, stated that Armenia will not take any steps that could harm Iran’s interests. He made the remarks in an interview with Isca News, commenting on a proposed road project through Armenian territory intended to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan.
According to the ambassador, agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan include five key principles: national sovereignty, territorial integrity, jurisdiction, reciprocity, and the inviolability of borders. He emphasized that these principles align with Iran’s own stance, and therefore, he sees no cause for concern, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.
“Armenia will not take any steps that contradict Iran’s interests or the relationship between the two countries,” said Sobhani.
He also noted that the term “corridor” is absent from both the draft peace agreement and the joint declaration signed in Washington. Instead, he said the project pertains solely to transportation routes that will connect Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, while enabling Armenia to link to the Iranian city of Julfa by rail.
Sobhani disclosed that under U.S.-Armenia agreements, a joint Armenian-American enterprise will be registered, with an investor and operator appointed. He stressed that the entire process will take place under Armenia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction. He added that the proposed road would operate under the oversight of Armenian security and customs services.
“According to the agreement, this will be an operational function, not a transfer of ownership,” Sobhani said.
The diplomat also recalled that during the Iranian president’s visit to Armenia, Yerevan’s leadership assured Tehran that the shared border is of strategic importance and faces no threat.
On August 8, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a seven-point joint declaration in Washington outlining the construction of a strategic transit route through Armenia’s Syunik Province. Named the TRIPP (Trump Route), it is intended as a commercial link between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. Former U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would lease the route for 99 years, with an option to extend.
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov preliminarily signed the “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan” in the presence of the leaders of the U.S., Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
