Azerbaijan’s Aliyev:
: Zangazur corridor poses no threat to Iran
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected concerns about the implementation of a transit corridor between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan, saying that the route is not a threat to Iran.
The Azerbaijani president in an interview with Al Arabiya underlined that the Zangazur corridor poses no threat to Iran in any way and, on the contrary, can help develop regional cooperation.
He said that there have been many rumors in certain media outlets and websites about Azerbaijan’s plans to occupy Zangezur and cut the border between Iran and Armenia.
“This is completely false. We have no such intention,” Aliyev stressed.
Back on August 8, Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the US-mediated peace deal at the White House. The accord includes the creation of a transit corridor through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan – a longstanding demand of Baku.
Under the deal, the United States will have development rights to the corridor – dubbed the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" (TRIPP) – in the strategic, resource-rich region.
Iran has long opposed the modification of the corridor, fearing it would cut the Islamic Republic off from the Caucasus.
Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves within each other's territories. The nations went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.