Iran remains concerned about the Armenian government’s plans to open a U.S.-administered transit corridor for Azerbaijan along Armenia’s border with the Islamic Republic, the Iranian ambassador in Yerevan said on Wednesday.
Khalil Shirgholami spoke the day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan initialed a fresh U.S.-Armenian agreement on practical modalities of the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
“Our position on the TRIPP project is very clear, and there is no ambiguity there,” Shirgholami told the Sputnik news agency. “We welcome the de-blockade processes, the realization of the potential of Armenia and other countries in the field of communication and transit. Iran is also ready to be part of that process. But on the other hand, we have expressed our concern about the hostile attitude of the United States.”
“We have no doubts that America does not wish the peoples of this region well,” he said. “Therefore, our position and our concern about any U.S. presence in Iran’s neighborhood is based on a realistic approach.”
“Again, we welcome all de-blockade processes. But having said that, our concerns and pessimism regarding U.S. goals remain. And we hope that U.S. presence in the region will not lead to rancor and rifts between the peoples of the region,” added the diplomat.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian agreed to the special transit arrangement during talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House last August. Iran fears that it could endanger its border with Armenia and lead to U.S. security presence there. Pashinian’s government has repeatedly assured Tehran that the TRIPP will not compromise Armenian sovereignty over the area.
Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed particularly opposed to the TRIPP. His top foreign policy adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, said in December that it would lay the groundwork for U.S. or NATO military presence along the Armenian-Iranian border.
Iranian leaders have made no public statements on the issue since the start of the war with the United States and Israel in February. Some observers believe that the war has only strengthened Tehran’s opposition.
The U.S.-Armenian agreement calls for the creation of a joint venture that will manage for at least 49 years a railway, a road, energy supply lines and other infrastructure to be built to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave. The U.S. government will own 74 percent of the company that will be granted “exclusive land use rights, development rights, related permissions, and all other rights” necessary for the transit arrangement.
—
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Maral Chavushian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2026/05/28/iran-repeats-concerns-over-u-s-armenian-corridor-deal/