TEHRAN – US Turkish Ambassador Tom Barack announced Friday that the US has proposed taking control of the proposed corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan to the Naktiban by invading Armenian territory, disrupting its historical boundary with Iran and denying the route.
While talking to the reporter, Barack portrayed the proposal as an attempt to “advance” negotiations between Yaraban and Baku.
The idea of “Zangezur Corridor,” a term derived from Azerbaijan and Turkey, assumes the road in the Syunik province of Armenia. The region has historically been close to Iran for centuries. However, the Zangezur corridor will not function as a standard transport route if established. It would require Armenia to abandon control of the passageway to Baku and its main patronage Ankara.
The project emerged following the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two countries with a history of territorial disagreements. Throughout much of 2023 and 2024, Baku and Ankara actively promoted the development of this corridor. Iran has consistently expressed disapproval of the plan, highlighting its commitment to maintaining the integrity of its historical boundaries and protecting the geopolitical balance of its surrounding areas. The Tehran Times understands that these efforts have subsided, at least in public, after Iran conveyed a solid message of willingness to intervene if the corridors were established by powerful means.
The American proposal once again warns Iranians. The Iranians have recently concluded a fatal war between Israel and the United States. “Americans want to manage the Zangezur project as they are trying to hurt the interests of Iran, Russia and China,” said South Caucasus expert Ehsan Movahedian in an interview with Iranian media. “More importantly, after failing to achieve its core goals during the 12-day war, the US is looking for a new way to hit Iran. The ultimate goal is the collapse of the country.”
Bad feelings towards Baku
New demands for the formation of Zangezur have negatively affected Azerbaijan’s perception, with Iranian citizens increasingly seeing their neighbors as a potential threat.
Residents of an Iranian city adjacent to Azerbaijan reported sighting drones entering Iranian airspace from Azerbaijan territory during Israel’s war with Iran. Some Western media also claim that Baku allowed Israel to launch drones from its territory. Although the Iranian government has not officially admitted these claims, President Azeri Ilham Aliyev refused to allow Israel to support Israel and hurt Iran in a call with President Masuud Pezeshkian, Pezeshkian urged Aliyev to investigate the issue.
In addition to these concerns, the recent meeting between Aliyev and Syrian Al Jolani is even more concerned with Iranian citizens who remember the horrific battles between Iranian forces and Dash in Syria and Iraq in the 2010s.