TEHRAN; Iran has strongly objected to a US-backed initiative to establish a transit route through Armenia under American control, warning it could threaten regional stability and undermine Tehran’s security interests.
The plan, signed Friday in Washington by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and US President Donald Trump, envisions opening the Zangezur transport corridor — linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave via a narrow strip in southern Armenia along the Iranian border.
Under the agreement, the US would manage the corridor under Armenian sovereignty through a 99-year land lease, subletting it to a consortium for construction and operations.
Tehran, while supporting peace between Yerevan and Baku, “vehemently” opposes US control, arguing it would sever Iran’s land link with Armenia and introduce destabilizing foreign military and commercial presence to the South Caucasus.
Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused Washington and Israel of using the project to weaken Iran, isolate both Iran and Russia, and redirect NATO’s strategic focus from Ukraine to the Caucasus. He warned the corridor could become “a graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries,” and said Russia also opposes it.
Moscow emphasized that regional solutions should be developed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and their immediate neighbors — Russia, Iran, and Turkey — noting that existing trilateral agreements and Russian-guarded Armenian borders remain in effect.
