Iran has made its first move to try and thwart US designs in its neighbourhood. Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, concluded a two-day trip to Armenia, where he signed 10 MoUs to improve bilateral ties with the country.
The visit came days after Armenia signed a US-mediated peace accord with its rival Azerbaijan. Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, met with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, in Washington DC on August 8. They signed a peace agreement in the presence of US President Donald Trump. The agreement is purportedly a step towards lasting peace between the two Caucasian neighbours, who have fought multiple wars over the past four decades.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought multiple wars over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave was home to mostly ethnic Armenians, but it was located within Azerbaijan’s borders. In 2023, Azerbaijan captured the entire territory in a lightning offensive, forcing the enclave’s over 100,000 residents to flee to Armenia. The two countries had been trying to finalise a peace deal ever since.
While Russia has been the traditional mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two Caucasian nations turned to the US for help this time around. Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement at the White House. So, Trump seemingly accomplished what others had failed to do for decades. But an arguably bigger success is how he squeezed American interests into the peace accord.
TRIPP: The Zangezur Corridor
The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, is an old idea with a new name. Before the summit, it was called the Zangezur corridor. It’s a land bridge which would connect the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan with the rest of the country. Currently, a rail line exists through the region. It was built during the Soviet Era, when both Armenia and Azerbaijan were a part of the USSR. But the rail line has been abandoned since 1989, after Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey imposed a blockade on Armenia. The blockade is still ongoing.
The new Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal envisions an end to the decades-long blockade, and the resumption of the rail line. Roads, oil and gas pipelines, and fibre-optic lines will also be developed along the corridor. And they will be developed by the US.
Iran’s Concerns about the Zangezur Corridor
The plan has set off alarm bells in Tehran. It fears that the US will use its commercial interests in the corridor as a pretext to deploy troops or station mercenaries at Iran’s border. Tehran says it will not allow this. Iran vowed to block the construction of the corridor, and a senior advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "this passage will not become a property of Trump’s, but a graveyard for his mercenaries." When Iran’s President went to Yerevan this week, he was assured that the Zangezur corridor would be under Armenia’s control. He was told that, “Roads passing through Armenia will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of Armenia, and security will be provided by Armenia, not by any third country.”
Will these assurances be enough to placate Iran? Or will Tehran try to undermine the Trump corridor? We’ll find out in the days to come.
