Iran's perspective on Armenia and regional security

Iranian political analyst Ali Salami shared his perspective on the relations with Armenia in an interview with Armenian media, Caliber.Az reports.

"Last year, relations between Armenia and Iran ended with the phone call between Pashinyan and Raisi, the main topic of which was the issue of Western attempts to invade the Southern Caucasus through Armenia itself," he said.

"Why Armenia and not Georgia is important, because Armenia has been one of Russia's reliable allies and strongholds in the post-Soviet space for decades, and in recent years this has begun to change, changing the entire image of the South Caucasus. This process is of concern to Iran, which in turn is more active, trying to find opportunities to realise its interests.

In 2023, Armenian-Iranian high-level political contacts were quite intense precisely because of this circumstance, and all Iranian statements regarding Armenia had two emphases: Iran stands by the territorial integrity of Armenia, just like it also stands by its own territorial integrity. Iran opposes any change in the geopolitics of the region and the presence of third countries in the South Caucasus.

However, some of this has already happened, and Iran was satisfied with statements on this issue, given the difficult situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

I think if it had been possible to soften the sharp edges in the region, the West's influence wouldn't be what it is now, so I think the regional countries were late and failed. But Iran, Russia and Türkiye will push the 3+3 project even harder this year, no matter how late the diplomatic work on the 3+3 is. And most likely, next year will show whether or not the countries of the region will succeed in protecting the region from serious foreign interference and influence," the political analyst said.