Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani declared: “We oppose changing international borders and re-establishing geopolitical arrangements in the Caucasus region.” In reference to the Zangezur Corridor plan, which Azerbaijan supports.
Baku has long wanted to build the corridor through which it can access the regionally separate Nakhchivan region, which borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. But this connection would isolate Iran from Armenia.
The background to Al-Kanaani’s statement is the visit of Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan to Tehran, who has been in the Iranian capital since Sunday. Yerevan and Tehran maintain close relations, especially in the economic field.
However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that Tehran “always supports the return of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan.”
The relationship between Baku and Tehran is very sensitive. Because Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, which in turn is a regional competitor to Iran. Moreover, Azerbaijan buys weapons from Israel, Iran’s “arch enemy”.
Cover image illustration, source: Yuji Sakai via Getty Images
