Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has reiterated Tehran’s firm opposition to any attempt to alter the country’s shared border with Armenia, underscoring the strategic importance of the frontier amid growing regional tensions.
Nasirzadeh delivered the message during an official visit to Yerevan this week, where he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday. According to a statement from the Armenian government, the Iranian defense chief reaffirmed Iran’s “unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia.”
Similar remarks were made during Nasirzadeh’s talks with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan a day earlier. Iranian news agencies quoted him as calling the Armenian-Iranian border a “historical communication route between the two nations,” adding that the Islamic Republic “will not allow any encroachment on this border.”
The statements come amid ongoing pressure from Azerbaijan for a land corridor through Armenia’s southern Syunik province, which borders Iran. The proposed route would link Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave and is backed by Turkey. In January, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev renewed threats to forcibly establish the corridor, raising alarm in both Yerevan and Tehran.
In a show of solidarity, Armenian forces and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted their first joint military exercise along the border last month. The drill simulated a coordinated response to a hypothetical attack by terrorist groups on border checkpoints. A senior IRGC commander described the Armenia-Iran border as strategically vital for Iran’s national security.
Prime Minister Pashinyan praised the state of Armenian-Iranian relations during his meeting with Nasirzadeh, stating that bilateral ties are based on “natural interests” and are “developing at a rapid pace,” according to the official readout.
Papikyan previously visited Tehran in March 2024, where he held talks with then-Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani. According to Armenian officials, the two sides reached “a number of understandings on issues of mutual interest.”
