Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian committed to such an arrangement during talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. The three leaders also presided over the initialing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the finalization of a peace agreement between the two countries, considering it an important step toward achieving lasting peace in the region,” read a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“At the same time, the Islamic Republic expresses concern over the negative consequences of any form of foreign intervention, especially near its shared borders, that could undermine the security and lasting stability of the region,” it said.
“Reaffirming its commitment to taking all political, legal, and economic measures necessary to safeguard its national rights and interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the establishment of communication routes and the removal of blockages in transportation networks will contribute to stability, security, and economic development for the peoples of the region only if carried out within a framework of mutual benefit, respect for national sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and without foreign interference,” added the statement.
Iran already voiced such concerns shortly after Pashinian confirmed and effectively backed on July 16 a U.S. proposal to manage, through a consortium of private companies, the transit of people and cargo via Syunik. Pashinian and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as well as senior Armenian and Iranian security officials spoke by phone in the following days.
A top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei charged afterwards that the U.S. and “certain pan-Turkist movements” want to “sever Iran’s link with the Caucasus.” Ali Akbar Velayati said Tehran will respond with a “policy of active prevention.” Velayati repeated on Monday the warning addressed to countries “in or outside the region.”
Pashinian insisted after the White House talks that the corridor named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would not be extraterritorial or breach Armenia’s territorial integrity otherwise. Armenian opposition leaders dismissed his assurances, saying that TRIPP would undermine Armenian sovereignty over Syunik.