News in Brief
Foreign Ministry: Iran, Azerbaijan enjoy 'unbreakable' bonds
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani says that the nations of Iran and Azerbaijan enjoy unbreakable ties.
During his weekly press conference on Monday, the diplomat responded to the news on the expulsion of four Azerbaijani diplomats from Iran. Kanaani confirmed the report, saying it came in response to Azerbaijan’s “unconstructive action” of expelling four Iranian diplomats.
“We have always expressed our views on relations with Azerbaijan clearly and transparently,” he said.
“The relations between the two nations are unbreakable, and we should not take any action that is not in the interests of the two countries, but is in the interest of the parties who want to harm those relations,” he added.
Armenia to become operator at Iran’s Chabahar port
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a decree on Monday on setting up an inter-agency task force for launching a new international cargo transportation route and becoming an operator at Iran’s Chabahar port.
According to the decree, the task force will deal with organizing a multimodal high-speed route of international cargo transportation via Armenia, ARKA news agency reported.
The task force’s goals include discussions and development of a new corridor for cargo transportation with the participation of Armenia, which will connect India and Iran with Europe through Georgia and the Black Sea, and in the opposite direction, as an alternative to the North-South international transport corridor.
The task force will be headed by the Armenian minister of economy. The minister will have to report to the prime minister the progress on a quarterly basis, with final results to be submitted before November 1, 2023. The task force must establish contacts and discuss technical issues with relevant departments of India, Georgia and Iran.