Iran International, a London-based news channel at loggerheads with the Iranian government, on Wednesday cited an unnamed “senior military official in the Middle East” as saying that the Armenian army will receive Iranian-made drones and air-defense systems. It said the anonymous source claimed that the contracts are part of a broader agreement that also calls for “intelligence cooperation, close military relations, training, and the establishment of bases on Armenian soil.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry dismissed the claim, saying that it does not comment on “reports with fictitious, fabricated content.”
The Iranian ambassador in Yerevan, Mehdi Sobhani, also denied the Iran International report on Friday, saying that it is aimed at undermining the Islamic Republic’s relations with regional countries. In written comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Sobhani said the Persian-language media outlet is notorious for disseminating “untrue information and one-sided analyses about Iran.”
Iran International is believed to have links to the government of Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s regional rival. In November 2022, Iranian authorities accused the channel of inciting antigovernment riots and designated it as a “terrorist organization.”
Despite having long maintained a cordial relationship, Iran and Armenia have never reported any bilateral arms deals.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian visited Tehran in March this year. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan said at the time that Papikian and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Reza Ashtiani reached “a number of understandings on issues of mutual interest” during their talks. It did not disclose them.
Iran has repeatedly warned against attempts to strip it of the common border and transport links with Armenia, in response to Azerbaijan’s demands for an extraterritorial corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave that would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering the Islamic Republic. Sobhani stressed earlier this month that this remains a “red line” for Tehran.
Iranian leaders have also signaled their unease over the Armenian government’s efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West amid a sharp deterioration of its relations with Russia, its traditional ally. Meeting with Papikian in March, then Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi insisted on “the non-interference of outsiders in regional affairs.”
Yerevan has since continued to deepen military ties with the United States and other Western powers. As recently as on July 15-24, it hosted another joint U.S.-Armenian military exercise.