Tehran/Yerevan, September 4
Armenia will not take any step against the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Tehran’s five key principles have been reflected in the draft Baku-Yerevan peace agreement, according to Mehdi Sobhani, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia.
In an interview with ISKA News, Sobhani said the principles include respect for national sovereignty, border integrity, jurisdiction, reciprocity, and the inviolability of borders. He stressed that these points were incorporated into the 17-point peace framework discussed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington.
Concerns had surfaced in Tehran and Yerevan about the so-called “Trump Road to Peace,” which envisages creating a transport route between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Armenia. Iranian analysts feared it might reduce Iran’s direct access to Armenia and the North Caucasus and increase U.S. influence on its borders.
Sobhani countered these worries, noting that the agreement only mentions opening transportation routes, not establishing a corridor. He compared the arrangement to Yerevan Airport, where the state maintains sovereignty, passport control, and customs, while management is delegated to an operator. “This is operatorship, not ownership,” he said.
The ambassador underlined that Yerevan had promised not to act against Tehran’s interests and called the Iran-Armenia frontier a “border of hope” and a symbol of good neighborliness. During the Iranian president’s visit to Yerevan—his first in nearly a decade—12 cooperation agreements were signed in areas ranging from trade and investment to pharmaceuticals and transport.
Sobhani said both sides are now preparing a long-term strategic pact. “Given the agreements reached, the future of relations between the two countries will be very bright,” he emphasized.
