Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Armenia to discuss a planned transit corridor linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave, a project Tehran has vowed to block over fears it could bring a US presence close to its borders.
The land route, officially called the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), was included in a peace deal signed earlier this month in Washington between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
US President Donald Trump hailed the accord as a breakthrough, saying it grants Washington exclusive developmental rights over the corridor. The United States also announced bilateral agreements with both countries covering cooperation in trade, energy, and technology.
Before departing for Yerevan on Monday, Pezeshkian said the possibility of American companies operating in the region was “worrying.”
The route, also known as the Zangezur corridor, would pass near Iran’s border and potentially reduce its access to Armenia and the wider Caucasus. Iranian officials have warned that the plan could reshape the region’s geopolitical balance.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described it as a “sensitive” issue, insisting that Armenia had promised no US forces or security contractors would be involved. Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, vowed the project would be blocked “with or without Russia,” calling it a “graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries.”
While Moscow cautiously welcomed the peace deal, it echoed Iran’s warnings against outside interference, urging that solutions should come from within the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought multiple wars over Nagorno-Karabakh since the late 1980s. Azerbaijan retook the disputed territory in a 2023 military operation, triggering the departure of nearly all ethnic Armenians. Last year, Armenia also returned several villages to Baku in what Azerbaijan described as a “historic” step.
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