RFE/RL – Armenian Opposition Bloc Wants Key Security Role For Iran

Narek Karapetian of the Strong Armenia alliance headed by his billionaire uncle Samvel claimed that without such a role for Tehran a U.S.-administered transit corridor promised by the Armenian government to Azerbaijan would come under cross-border Iranian attacks.

The corridor to be named after U.S. President Donald Trump would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s strategic Syunik region bordering Iran. According to a joint U.S.-Armenian “implementation framework” signed in January, a special company controlled by the U.S. government will build a railway, a road, energy supply lines and other infrastructure along the Armenian-Iranian border and manage them for at least 49 years.

Iranian officials spoke out against the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) in the months leading up to the war with the United States and Israel. Some observers believe that Tehran will now be even more opposed to the transit arrangement.

Narek Karapetian echoed that view during an election campaign trip to Syunik. In a short video recorded on the Armenian-Iranian border and posted on social media, he warned of Iranian military strikes on TRIPP facilities.

“Imagine a situation in which an American company is here and Iranian troops are over there,” he said. “Over the last oner or two months we have seen Iranian strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar. What will happen if their relations break down again and only an American company is present here? A conflict between them will definitely erupt.

“Iran will likely strike, but it won’t do that with long-range missiles this time around. The distance [from the Iranian border] is just 30-40 meters. They can strike with assault rifles. They can even throw a slipper [over the border] and it will reach us.”

Therefore, Karapetian went on, Iran should “also become a guarantor peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a guarantor of Armenia’s territorial integrity.” He did not elaborate on such an arrangement.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has claimed to have done his best to address the Iranian concerns. Pashinian said on March 12 that the war in the Middle East will likely delay the TRIPP’s implementation. But he sounded more optimistic on that score after more U.S.-Armenian talks on the project held in the following weeks.

Tehran fears that the TRIPP could put the Armenian-Iranian border at serious risk and lead to U.S. security presence there. Armenian opposition figures have likewise said that it could undermine Armenian control over that part of Syunik.

Samvel Karapetian, who remains under house arrest on what he sees as politically motivated charges, claimed that Armenia risks losing the entire province when he met with a large group of supporters at his Yerevan villa on Monday. The Russian-Armenian tycoon criticized Pashinian’s pro-Western policy during a news conference last week.

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