Nasirzadeh met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday on the second day of his official visit to Yerevan. According to Pashinian’s press office, he reaffirmed Tehran’s “unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia.”
Nasirzadeh reportedly made similar comments during his talks with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian held on Tuesday. Iranian news agencies quoted him as calling the Armenian-Iranian border a “historical communication route between the two nations” and saying that the Islamic Republic “will not allow any encroachment on this border.”
Iranian leaders have repeatedly issued such warnings before in the face of Azerbaijan’s continuing demands for a land corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave that would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering Iran. In January this year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev renewed his threats to forcibly open such a corridor also sought by Turkey.
The Armenian army and Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), held a first-ever joint exercise along the frontier last month. They simulated a joint operation against imaginary “terrorist groups” attacking the border crossings. A top IRGC general stressed the “strategic importance” of the border for his country.
Pashinian praised Armenian-Iranian relations during his talks with Nasirzadeh. He said they are based on common “natural interests” and are “developing at a rapid pace,” according to the official Armenian readout of the talks.
Papikian paid an official visit to Tehran in March 2024. His press office reported at the time that he and then Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani reached “a number of understandings on issues of mutual interest.”