Azernews.Az

Rena Murshud

Read more

Apart from the region, isolated from relations with many countries of the world with economic opportunities, Iran was worried about the tendency of its fickle ally, Armenia, towards the West. This concern made her focus more on Azerbaijan. Most likely, such a sudden decision of Tehran took place after the "Protocol of Intent" between Azerbaijan and Turkiye on the Kars-Nakhchivan railway project on September 25, 2023.

Iran is now decisively taking steps towards Azerbaijan. Thus, Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev met with Iran's Road and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash today. During the meeting, the foundation-laying ceremony of a highway bridge, customs and border infrastructure has today been held in the vicinity of the Aghband settlement of Azerbaijan's Zangilan district as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two states signed on March 11, 2022 .

Thus, Armenia missed its chance again. Because the neighboring state, which wasted time over unnecessary issues with its western allies, while missing the opportunity to join the economic projects of the region, took refuge in Iran's logic and did not want to strengthen its relations with a marginalized state like Yerevan - on the contrary, it chose to take advantage of more profitable opportunities.

However, on the other hand, this cannot fully reflect Iran's friendly intentions towards Azerbaijan.

"The signing of the memorandum does not mean that the two parties have reached an agreement and that the claims arising from that agreement must be implemented. This is just the intention of the two states. This is also a project with Iran to move from one territory of Azerbaijan to another. Until then, that is, during the period when part of the Azerbaijani lands were under occupation, there was a land connection from the Bilasuvar checkpoint to Nakhchivan. If the project is implemented, that distance will be shortened. I believe that this project will be a very useful project for both countries."
Azerbaijani political scientist Sadraddin Soltan has told this in his comment to AZERNEWS.

Speaking about the benefits of this for Iran, the political scientist noted that Iran will get a chance to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan in the economic and transport direction, as well as gain the trust and confidence of the other side. The beneficial aspect for Azerbaijan is its ability to move to its territory both in terms of time and without paying additional costs.

"This road also increases the chances of having an alternative road for the Zangazur corridor in the future. The road that is currently being built may result in the construction of a railway in the future. If Turkiye and other countries join this project in the future, the international importance of the project may increase significantly," the expert said.

Sadraddin Soltan noted that the party left out of the project is Armenia. Because Armenia is against such a route passing through its territory, it is also illogical to use this road. Also, the interest of European countries in this project is impossible. Because some time ago, the EU expanded the sanctions against Iran. This reduces the state's ability to participate in a large-scale project. Iran is considered the most unreliable, dangerous and risky country on the international scale.

In addition, the expert noted that the Armenian side will agree to the Zangazur corridor project in the near future. As for the reason, he noted that Yerevan, whose relations with Russia are broken, is aware that the corridor for access to Europe is important for its future.
Later, the expert spoke about Iran's fear regarding the Zangazur Corridor. According to him, Iran is worried that NATO and the EU will be able to access the region through the corridor. Unfortunately, Iran is not aware that the Zangazur Corridor will be more useful for it.

"The South Caucasus was under the political and geopolitical influence of the Ottomans, the Safavids, and then the USSR for a long time, and now Russia. Now the process of Russia's exit from the region has begun. The reason is the limitation of Moscow's influence on the region with the collapse of the USSR. Russia is the only one in the region whose military base is located in Armenia. However, it has chosen a very strict position against official Moscow. That is, the process of preparation for the next stage of the South Caucasus is underway," the political scientist said.

At the end of his comment, the expert spoke about the preparation process of the South Caucasus for the next stage. According to him, the attempts of other Western countries, including France and the United States, as well as Russia to stay in the region continue. At the same time, brotherly Turkiye also has considerable influence in the Caucasus.

"Like other power states, Iran is currently trying to gain some influence in the region. The weakest point for it is Armenia. Because Yerevan, which it supported during the occupation, was a means of pressure for Tehran against Baku. The Iranian authorities have taken all these steps just to strengthen their political, economic and geographical sphere of influence in the region," the expert concluded.

---

Rena Murshud is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz