Yerevan concerned as communications cut with Armenians in Iran

By Elen Muradyan

Armenian authorities say they have been unable to establish contact with ethnic Armenians in Iran for several days, raising concern as anti-government protests and communications blackouts continue across the country.

“We have had no information from Iran since Friday, and at this point we cannot reach our compatriots there, which is deeply worrying,” Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, told reporters Monday in Yerevan.

Asked whether Armenia might organize an evacuation, Sinanyan said officials currently lack sufficient information to discuss such a step, adding that efforts to re-establish contact are continuing.

Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests for a second consecutive week.  

Human rights groups have published varying casualty figures. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Jan. 11 that at least 544 people had been killed in protest-related violence over the past 15 days, with more than 10,000 arrests nationwide. The organization said demonstrations had taken place in all 31 provinces, though the figures could not be independently verified due to the communications blackout.

An estimated 50,000 ethnic Armenians live in the country, most of them in Tehran, with sizeable communities also in Isfahan and Tabriz. Iran’s Armenians are among the country’s oldest Christian minorities and maintain close ties with Armenia.

Officials in Yerevan said the lack of communication makes it difficult to assess the security situation facing the community or to determine whether assistance may be required. For now, Sinanyan said, the priority is to restore contact and gather accurate information.