Karabakh, gas for electricity, corridors: Exclusive with Iran’s ambassador

By Mark Dovich

Iran’s ambassador to Armenia has expressed his support for the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians, his hopes to expand economic ties between Yerevan and Tehran, and his opposition to the Zangezur corridor, a proposed extraterritorial route that would connect mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave via Armenia.

Those are just a few of the takeaways from Mehdi Sobhani’s exclusive interview with CivilNet’s Georgi Mirzabekyan last Friday, available on CivilNet in Armenian.

The rare, wide-ranging conversation with a senior member of Iran’s foreign service prompted Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry to take the unusual step of issuing a statement decrying Sobhani’s “baseless and provocative opinions” that “undermine the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.”

Baku expects Tehran to “take necessary steps regarding the opinions voiced by the ambassador,” the statement added.

Here are the highlights of Sobhani’s conversation with CivilNet, translated into English.

Azerbaijan ‘cannot ignore’ Karabakh Armenians’ rights

“We recognize the territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan in accordance with international and United Nations norms, but this does not mean the rights of the people who are there should be violated.

We believe the rights of the people of Karabakh should be ensured, the rights of every person from Karabakh should be ensured. They must have the opportunity to exercise their rights. This is a reality that no one, including Azerbaijan, can ignore.”

Iran hopes for $1B annual trade with Armenia

“I must note with satisfaction that the volume of our trade last year was $711 million, and we hope this number will reach $1 billion this year. This is a very good record in relations with Armenia.

Armenia does not have a very large population and is a small country, but it is a good platform for dealing with the Eurasian Economic Union market and can open a trade route to these countries. You know that we have very good cooperation in the economic sphere.

There is a gas pipeline between the two countries, and we renewed the gas-for-electricity swap agreement two months ago. That was a big and strategic step in the relations between the two countries. Thanks to that agreement, we will be able to increase imports of electricity from Armenia to Iran in exchange for gas, triple or even quadruple it…

In general, I can say that our trade and economic relations have good development dynamics, and we will decisively continue on that path.”

Iran ‘does not accept or tolerate’ the Zangezur corridor

“Our position on that matter (the Zangezur corridor – ed.) has been declared at such a level that no one can change it. It is not the position of the common man or the middle man. This is the position of the supreme leader of our revolution, who has stated very clearly that we do not accept and do not tolerate any border or geopolitical changes.

The hidden meaning in that firm and simple position is that we support Armenia's independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty and are against anything that would violate international borders…

You cannot tell an independent country with its own territorial integrity and sovereignty that it should not exercise its sovereignty in its territory and that someone else should come and control that territory. We are against that. From our point of view, a route beyond Armenia's control and sovereignty is unacceptable.”