Grigorian visited Tehran to attend an international security forum held there. He also held separate meetings with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as Ahmadian.
According to Iranian news agencies, Ahmadian described relations between the two neighboring nations as “strategic” and said they should be expanded “without restrictions.”
“Comprehensive cooperation between the two sides is in the interest of regional peace and stability,” he said.
Tehran will therefore not allow its “enemies” to cause any harm to Armenian-Iranian ties, added Ahmadian. He spoke in that context of unnamed outside powers that are “not interested in lasting peace in the region.” It is not clear whether he referred to the United States or other Western powers with which the current Armenian government has been seeking closer ties.
The Mehr news agency cited Grigorian as saying in that regard that the deepening of Armenia’s relations with Iran is “not linked to the will of others.”
The two countries held last month a first-ever joint military exercise on their border amid what many in Armenia see as a lingering risk of an Azerbaijani invasion aimed at opening a land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering Iran. Earlier this year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev renewed his threats to forcibly open such a corridor also sought by Turkey.
Incidentally, the Azerbaijani and Iranian militaries began over the weekend similar joint drills along a section of the Azerbaijani-Iranian border just south of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Iran has repeatedly warned Azerbaijan as well as Turkey against attempting to strip it of the common border or direct transport links with Armenia. Araghchi reaffirmed Tehran’s strong opposition to the so-called “Zangezur corridor” when he visited Yerevan on March 25.
Speaking at the Tehran forum, Grigorian was reported to say that Yerevan is not discussing the Azerbaijani demands for the corridor in its peace talks with Baku.