West-Iran nuclear deal affords opportunities for Armenia as well – Emma Begijanyan

ArmInfo. The West-Iran nuclear deal affords opportunities for Armenia as well, as it will defuse tension between Tehran and Brussels in tandem with Washington, Emma  Begijanyan, an expert for the Armenian Institute of International and  Security Affairs (AIISA), said in an interview with ArmInfo. 

On August 18, Iran’s authorities send their response to the EU’s  proposals to revitalize the nuclear deal.  The content of the message  is a secret. The U.S. received Tehran’s response to Brussel’s  proposal to revitalize the Joint to Comprehensive Plan of Action  (JCPOA). 

The Iran International channel reported a list of concessions the  U.S. is allegedly ready to make, including removal of sanctions from  17 Iranian banks and immediate release of Iran’s $7bln assets in  South Korea. 

“I think that the opportunities for Iranian economy could hardly be  overestimated. And removal of sanctions from Iran meets our interests  as well. The point is that Iran and Turkey are interdependent now.   And should the nuclear deal remain on paper, it will enable Ankara to  exert further pressure on Tehran, including over the so-called  ‘Zangezur corridor’ via Armenia,” she said. 

Recep Erdogan needs this corridor even more than Ilham Aliyev,  whereas this Turkish idea is thee redline for Tehran, which is now  sparing no effort to oppose it. And since the corridor is the redline  for Armenia, Yerevan must coordinate its actions with Tehran.

“The concurring interests of Armenia and Iran in opposing the  implementation of the Turkish-Azerbaijani plans leave Armenia and  Iran with no alternative but to cooperate. I think Yerevan too should  undertake initiative, as I am rather pessimistic about the prospects  of Western and Russian support to Armenia for thee simple reason  that, in contrast to Iran, it is not in their interests,” Ms  Begijanyan said.