Iranian President visits Armenia for talks on US-Backed corridor

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Armenia on Monday to hold talks about a new transport corridor linking Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave near the Iranian border. The project is part of a peace deal recently signed in Washington.

Speaking before his trip, which also includes a stop in Belarus, Pezeshkian said Iran is worried about the possible involvement of American companies in the project. “We will raise this issue with Armenian officials and share our concerns,” he told state television.

The corridor, called the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), was agreed upon earlier this month between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington. Under the deal, the United States will have development rights over the route, which passes close to Iran.

Iran strongly opposes the plan, often referred to as the Zangezur corridor. Tehran fears it could cut off its land link with Armenia and the wider Caucasus, while also bringing US influence and possibly foreign forces right to its borders.

Since the deal was signed, Iranian leaders have warned Armenia that the project could be part of a US strategy to expand its power in the region. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the issue “sensitive,” saying Iran’s main worry is that it might change the region’s geopolitical balance. He added that Armenia has assured Iran no US forces or private security firms would be stationed there under the pretext of the corridor.

Earlier this month, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader went further, warning that Tehran would never allow the corridor to be built, calling it a “graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries.”

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