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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Iran’s ambassador in Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, has acknowledged the diverging interests of Russia and Iran in the South Caucasus region in an interview with The New York Times.
In an article titled Where Asia Meets Europe, Allies Become Rivals in a Tangle of Interests, The New York Times said “In the volatile Caucasus region, Russia and Iran, often seen as united in their aims, are vying to secure trade routes and influence.”
The article mentions the agreement between Armenia and Russia on border patrol at the Armenian-Iranian border: Starting January 1, 2025, Armenian Border Guards will start patrolling the border together with Russian Border Guards, while the border crossing point will be patrolled only by Armenian Border Guards.
“Here in the Caucasus, the mountainous region where Europe meets Asia, Russia and Iran are increasingly seen as rivals, while Western countries are — surprisingly — finding some common cause with Tehran,” the article says.
The article also features an interview with the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, who acknowledged the diverging interests of Russia and Iran in the region. “We are not allies,” Mr. Sobhani said. “We have some differences, and we have some mutual interests. It doesn’t mean that we are allied.”
Sobhani reiterated that Iran cannot accept change of the international border.
Asked what would Iran do in the event of Azerbaijan attacking Armenia, the Ambassador said, “It will not happen.”
Touching upon the strategic importance of Armenia’s Syunik Province, the article underscores that the roads there are a key route north from the Persian Gulf and critical for exporting Iranian goods to Russia and to Europe.
“But it is also where Russia and Azerbaijan want to establish an east-west route toward Turkey that would be outside Armenia’s control — a route that Armenians fear Azerbaijan could take by force,” The New York Times said in the article.
Markus Ritter, the head of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia, told The New York Times that the Iranians “are here in the region, the best friends of the Armenians.” While Russia and Azerbaijan bristle at the European presence, he said, Iran seems to accept it.
“It’s very complicated here,” he notes.