Iran’s visiting President Mesud Pezeshkian and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to elevate the relations to the level of “strategic partnership” during a meeting held in Yerevan on August 19.
The remarks were made during a press conference followed by the two leaders. Pashinyan said that the two countries had agreed to build a new bridge over the River Araks at the border. High on the agenda of the meeting was the peace declaration signed in Washington in early August about the opening of a corridor, dubbed Trump road, that will connect Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan via Armenian territory bordering Iran and operated by a US consortium under lease agreement. Pezeskhian indirectly referenced to the corridor, underlining the importance of Armenia’s sovereignty.
“We have always emphasised Armenia’s territorial integrity and we will never accept the violation of that integrity. Fortunately, our relations are developing in all areas and I hope that during these discussions and meetings we will be able to further develop these ties,” Pezeshkian said, according to official readouts of the meeting from the state-run media outlet Armenpress.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that the prospect of US presence on or near the Armenian–Iranian border, even if non-military, is a red line.
Pezeshkian arrived in Armenia on August 18 but his official meetings took place on August 19. Pashinyan and Pezeshkian signed several cooperation agreements, including a “memorandum on political consultations in 2025–2027” between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
‘The countries also signed memorandums of cooperation in the fields of tourism, vocational education and training, urban development and construction, pharmaceuticals, culture, and cinema,” Armenpress wrote.
