Baku sets record straight on Zangezur Corridor Insights from Ilham Aliyev’s interview

President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with Al Arabiya TV, once again outlined the priorities of Azerbaijan’s state policy and set clear accents on issues of fundamental importance for establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus. In this context, special attention should be paid to the head of state’s remarks regarding Iran’s position on the Zangezur Corridor.

From the outset, the proposed transport project faced strong opposition from hardline conservatives close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, following the Washington summit, where the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with US President Donald Trump’s involvement, reached a compromise on the Zangezur Corridor, opposition within Iran intensified and became more vocal than ever.

For example, the statement by Iran’s Supreme Leader’s advisor on international affairs, Velayati, was not only harsh but also contained outright threats. In particular, he threatened to “block” the US-backed transport route through Zangezur, calling the project a “threat to Armenia’s territorial integrity” and regional security. He also compared the US president’s “leasing” idea to the Panama Canal, promising that the corridor would become a graveyard for “Trump’s mercenaries.”

Velayati’s remarks certainly didn’t go unnoticed by the Azerbaijani government, as reflected in the statements made by Azerbaijan’s president during the interview with Al Arabiya, where he directly addressed the radical conservative factions in Iran.

“We are basing our policy on those politicians who have been elected by the people of Iran and have a mandate to implement their duties. And this is the president. There have been certain voices of some former officials, who are now named as advisors. I don't know what kind of advice they give…Such position is not important to us at all. It has zero significance because our interstate relations are between the governments, between the presidents, and between the foreign ministers. Therefore, we totally ignore these false narratives, which have been articulated by the so-called advisors. For us, everything is clear,” Ilham Aliyev stated. 

By doing so, Azerbaijan’s president sent a clear message to anti-Azerbaijani factions in Iran: their aggressive criticism of the Zangezur Corridor is just empty rhetoric. Azerbaijan only considers the views of those officially authorised to shape Iran’s foreign policy—most notably President Masoud Pezeshkian—whose stance is balanced and rational, unlike the militant rhetoric of the Iranian theocrats.

It’s worth noting that after the summit in Washington, the Iranian president stated that the country’s concerns about territorial integrity and free access to Europe and the north had been acknowledged and addressed. This is a clear example of practical thinking and a realistic approach to the region’s current situation. The Azerbaijani president also highlighted this, saying that “the position of the president is absolutely reasonable and is based on the fact that the Zangezur Corridor is not in any way a threat to Iran,” while also emphasising his personal relationship with Masoud Pezeshkian.

“I think our personal relations, as well as the relations between his administration and mine, are very constructive and very friendly. With respect to the official position of Iran toward the new development, we consider it very reasonable and very positive. When I say official position, I mean the position of the president and the Foreign Minister. This is the official position,” the president noted. 

Secondly, it’s important to note that after Azerbaijan fully restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty in 2023, rumors began circulating that the country intended to close the Iran-Armenia border. This complete victory did not sit well with anti-Azerbaijani forces in Tehran, who were behind these unfounded claims. For instance, in May this year, Iran’s Defence Minister, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, told his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan: “Tehran will not tolerate any violations of the Armenia-Iran border. Maintaining territorial integrity and border stability in the region remains a core principle of Iran’s policy.”

From the perspective of international peace, it is very important that the Azerbaijani head of state completely denied these rumors about a supposed planned occupation of Zangezur by Azerbaijan, providing a number of well-founded facts to support his position.

“There have been a lot of rumors in some media and on some internet sites that Azerbaijan is planning to occupy Zangezur, or that Azerbaijan is planning to cut the Iran-Armenia border. That is absolutely false. We had no such intention. Again, if we wanted to do it, we would have done it in November 2020. It was very easy to do, and it remained easy throughout all five years. It's only 40 kilometers. From a military point of view, it would not take much time. From both sides — from Nakhchivan and from the mainland — we could take it…We didn't do it because we are not aggressors. We are not a country which occupies. We are a people and a country which liberates, and that's what we've done. And our war was a just war, a liberation war, a war on our soil, and a war of restoration of justice. From this point of view, I think that all these rumors that we were planning to cut the Armenia-Iran border are absolutely groundless. Everybody knows that,” Ilham Aliyev emphasised. 

We believe the Azerbaijani president’s compelling arguments have put this issue to rest once and for all. Anyone in Iran hoping to drive a wedge between Tehran and Baku should take note.