In a statement, the ministry said that the exercise involving special forces units of the Armenian and Iranian armies will start later in the day and last for two days.
“The Armenian Armed Forces unit will conduct the exercise on the territory of Armenia, while the Iranian Armed Forces unit will conduct the exercise on the territory of Iran,” it said.
They will simulate a joint operation against imaginary “terrorist groups” attacking the Armenian-Iranian border crossings, added the statement. It said nothing about the number of the participating troops.
The Iranian military did not immediately confirm the conduct of what appear to be the first-ever Armenian-Iranian drills. They come amid what many in Armenia see as the increased risk of an Azerbaijani invasion aimed at opening a land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering Iran. Earlier this year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev renewed his threats to forcibly open such a corridor also sought by Turkey.
Iran has repeatedly warned Azerbaijan as well as Turkey against attempting to strip it of the common border or direct transport links with Armenia. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed Tehran’s strong opposition to the so-called “Zangezur corridor” when he visited Yerevan on March 25.
The Armenian government has welcomed Tehran’s stance. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s administration appears to have been wary until now of significantly stepping up military cooperation with Iran, seeking instead closer security ties with the West.
Some Armenian opposition groups have criticized this policy. Armen Rustamian, the top leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), said on March 10 that Armenia should enter into a defense alliance with Iran in order to ward off the possible Azerbaijani attack on its territory.
Defense Minister Suren Papikian paid an official visit to Tehran in March 2024. The Armenian Defense Ministry reported at the time Papikian and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Reza Ashtiani reached “a number of understandings on issues of mutual interest.” It did not elaborate.