In an article published on Wednesday, the semi-official agency, Tasnim, pointed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent statements accusing Armenia of “sabotaging” a Russian-brokered agreement to open the corridor. The accusations added to heightened tensions between Moscow and Yerevan.
“According to informed sources, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow has recently voiced Tehran’s protest against the Russian Foreign Ministry’s stance on the Zangezur corridor,” wrote Tasnim. “In Iran, experts have advised Russia to bear in mind that Tehran is opposed to the creation of any corridor whatsoever that would connect Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan through Armenia, saying Russians should not be surprised to hear about Iran’s legitimate, clear and unchanging views on this issue.”
No country in the South Caucasus should enjoy a geopolitical advantage over “the others,” it said, adding that “Moscow should therefore never expect to use the idea of the Zangezur corridor in order to settle disputes with Armenia.”
Earlier this week, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official, Mojtaba Demirchilou, met with the Russian ambassador in Tehran to discuss “ongoing developments in the Caucasus.” A ministry statement cited Demirchilou as reiterating Iran’s strong opposition to any “geopolitical changes” in the region.
“The Iranian diplomat also stressed the need to take into consideration the legitimate concerns and interests of all countries in the region,” added the statement.
Iran International, a London-based news channel at loggerheads with the Iranian government, suggested that Tehran thus “criticized Russia for supporting Azerbaijan's demand to get unimpeded access to Nakhichevan” as well as Turkey, which has a short common border with the exclave.
Russian officials argue that a November 2020 ceasefire deal that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh requires Yerevan to “guarantee the security of transport links” between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan passing through Armenia’s Syunik province. Armenia and Azerbaijan disagree on practical modalities of opening such links.
Baku wants people and goods moving between Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan to be exempt from Armenian border controls. Yerevan has rejected this demand, saying that it compromises Armenia’s territorial integrity.
Syunik is the only Armenian region bordering Iran. The latter is also opposed to the “Zangezur corridor” demanded by Baku. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on July 30 that the extraterritorial corridor would be “detrimental to Armenia.”
The Tasnim article said it would strip the Islamic Republic of a common border with Armenia and block “one of Iran’s gateways to Europe.”
“Russia has been also advised to avoid taking measures that may impair the strategic relations between Moscow and Tehran because the idea of the Zangezur corridor will create a new flashpoint near the very delicate boundaries of northwestern Iran,” said the news agency.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said last week that Moscow is aware of the Iranian concerns. But she did not comment further.
The Russians insisted earlier that the transport arrangements favored by them would not call into question Armenian sovereignty over Syunik. Still, Lavrov indicated in January that they envisage “neutral border and customs control” for the movement of people, vehicles and goods through the strategic region.
