The American University of Armenia (AUA) resumed in-person classes on Tuesday one day after suspending them in response to neighboring Iran’s threats to target U.S.-affiliated campuses in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened such “retaliation” after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes reportedly destroyed two Iranian universities on the night from Friday to Saturday. It warned “all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas” to stay a kilometer away from campuses.
The AUA administration responded by deciding to hold all classes online on Monday. It said it took the “precautionary measure” despite “no indication that we are in any kind of danger.”
The Yerevan-based university, which has some 2,800 graduate and undergraduate students, announced its decision to revert to in-person teaching in a statement released late on Monday.
“As of earlier today we have received assurance from the Armenia Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport that they are confident that there is no significant or substantial risk to the University, and that in-person classes can be resumed as usual,” said the statement. “By the decision of the AUA Emergency Operations and Crisis Management Committee, based on that information, all classes will resume in-person starting tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31.”
The ministry made no public statements on the issue. The AUA, which is affiliated with University of California, was founded by Armenian-American charities and philanthropists in 1991.
The Armenian government has reacted cautiously to the continuing war in the Middle East triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. It has refrained from criticizing the U.S.-Israeli military campaign while delivering an unpublicized amount of humanitarian aid to the Islamic Republic. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi thanked Yerevan for its “support” after a weekend phone call with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.
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Pashinyan lauds peace, rebukes ‘tripartite war party’ opposition for ‘cynical
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday accused the main opposition forces of “cynical lies” and branded them as ‘war parties’.
In a video posted on social media, Pashinyan dismissed the claims of former President Robert Kocharyan, Strong Armenia party leader, tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, and business magnate and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan that Armenia had peace even before Pashinyan took power in 2018, and before the initialing of the August 8 peace deal.
Pashinyan said that, since August 8, 2025, Armenia has, for the first time since gaining independence, achieved de jure peace with Azerbaijan.
“The tripartite war party of Kocharyan-Karapetyan-Tsarukyan is trying to convince people that before 2024–2025, and even before 2018, we had peace.
Of course, this claim is a cynical lie, even considering the simple fact that since independence—and even after the 1994 ceasefire—we have had casualties and injuries every year as a result of exchanges of fire with Azerbaijan. Moreover, the casualties number in the hundreds, and the number of wounded is significantly higher. Perhaps this is their notion of peace: that we continue to have casualties every year. Our understanding, on the other hand, is the opposite: peace means the absence of deaths and injuries; peace means the complete absence of any tension.
In the preceding period, one could say we had daily exchanges of fire, with periodic sniper battles and minor sniper conflicts. But it is also very important to note what this situation meant in relation to a major war and what it implied. What I mean is that in the preceding period we never truly had peace; rather, we had a postponement of war,” Pashinyan elaborated.
He added that it is also important to note how and at what cost the postponement of war occurred.
“That, in essence, also came at a cost, which we have paid. And for the postponement of war, we have paid with Armenia’s independence, sovereignty, statehood, the well-being of its citizens, and economic development. It should also be noted that this ‘payment method’ had already been exhausted by 2016, when the four-day war occurred. Not only did the four-day war take place, but an entirely different logic was placed on the negotiating table, which completely undermined all Armenian conceptions regarding the resolution of the Karabakh issue.
Those who attempt to dispute this claim, I will refer to the already published and widely known letter of Serzh Sargsyan from August 2016,” said the Prime Minister.
According to Pashinyan, his statement that there was never peace in the previous period, whereas peace is now established, is justified by the fact that 2025 is the first calendar year in which Armenia has had no casualties or injuries as a result of exchanges of fire with Azerbaijan.
“In practice, we have not had any casualties or injuries since February 2024. In other words, the last such incident occurred at the beginning of 2024,” he noted.
The Prime Minister of Armenia emphasized that the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not yet signed, but only initialed, yet he added that the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan already has de jure recognition.
“The de jure confirmation in 2024 is the adoption of the regulation on joint activities of the border delimitation commissions of the two countries, which, once adopted, was ratified through the respective procedures in both countries, thereby acquiring the highest legal force. It is in this document that the Alma-Ata Declaration is recorded as the fundamental principle for border delimitation between the two countries. And this has de jure supreme significance in both countries.
This means that Armenia and Azerbaijan have mutually recognized, through a de jure legally binding document, that independent Armenia is identical in its territory to Soviet Armenia, and independent Azerbaijan is identical in its territory to Soviet Azerbaijan. This is the foundation of peace, and it carries the highest legal force in both countries.
Deviating from this logic—the direction in which the tripartite war party of Kocharyan-Karapetyan-Tsarukyan is taking – unequivocally and indisputably means war, with all its consequences,” emphasized Nikol Pashinyan.
According to Pashinyan, his administration has achieved not merely a postponement of war, but peace—at the cost of many casualties and sacrifices.
“Our respect goes to all our fallen brothers… we have achieved peace, and a free, democratic, developing, prosperous, and sovereign Armenia is the highest way to honor their memory. We cannot give a greater recognition to their sacrifices. Thus, peace today is already de jure established, and the citizens of the Republic of Armenia must uphold the peace, because this is their peace, their created peace, achieved through the efforts of the government they elected. The government has treated the establishment of peace as a priority—remaining faithful to the mandate given by the people in the 2021 snap parliamentary elections, listening to the word of the people, and implementing it.
And now the time has come—the time is June 7, 2026—for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia to uphold their peace. I can sincerely say—I have no doubt—that the citizens of Armenia will uphold peace,” concluded Pashinyan.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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Pashinyan chairs discussion on tax policy reforms
Tax policy reforms were discussed under the leadership of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s office, a consultation was held during which work on procedural reforms in tax policy was discussed.
Pashinyan noted that the consultation followed a recent Government session that addressed the revision of criminal liability thresholds for acts considered as tax evasion.
It was concluded that the proposed draft amendments require further improvement, and the Prime Minister instructed that additional work be carried out in this direction.
Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, Eduard Hakobyan, presented the results of the analyses, outlining proposed new procedures and steps aimed at developing the tax sector. He also referred to efforts to transform the institution of a law-abiding taxpayer.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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Armenia to participate with new delegation at 50th session of CoE Congress of
From March 31 to April 2, Strasbourg, France, will host the landmark 50th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
This session marks a pivotal moment for European local self-government, as it inaugurates a new five-year mandate for national delegations. The Republic of Armenia will participate with its renewed delegation, ready to engage in this high-level democratic process, the Communities Association of Armenia said in a press release.
The newly appointed Armenian delegation, comprised of local community representatives, will have the opportunity to participate in the election of the Congress’s new leadership and advocate for Armenia’s interests within this vital European platform.
Key Agenda Highlights
The 50th Session will focus on the grave challenges currently facing modern democracy:
Local Democracy in Crisis: Special attention will be given to the reconstruction of Ukraine and the critical role of local authorities in overcoming the consequences of the war.
Safety and Protection: The agenda includes a debate on the rising instances of violence against elected local officials and international strategies to ensure their protection.
Regional Developments: Members will discuss the state of local democracy in Georgia, alongside the results of election observation missions in several European countries.
New Technologies and Social Rights: The impact of Artificial Intelligence on local governance and the provision of social rights under pressure will be key thematic areas.
High-Level Discussions
The session will feature addresses by Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe; Mattias Guyomar, President of the European Court of Human Rights; and various government ministers and mayors from across Europe.
The Communities Association of Armenia (CAA), as the coordinator of the Armenian delegation’s activities, will closely monitor the session proceedings. The Association will provide regular updates on the activities of Armenian delegates, their interventions, and the key decisions adopted during the session.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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UN Human Rights Council adopts Armenia’s “Prevention of Genocide” resolution
The 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council has unanimously adopted the resolution “Prevention of Genocide” submitted by the Republic of Armenia, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The statement notes that the biennial resolution is based on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and plays a significant role in translating the provisions of this important document into the operational framework of UN policy.
The resolution aims to promote the concept of early warning in genocide prevention and to define a framework of risk factors, including hatred, discrimination, and impunity. It also emphasizes the importance of a timely response, which can significantly help prevent the escalation of violence.
By bringing the issue of genocide prevention to the international agenda, the resolution once again highlights its importance among current diplomatic priorities. It contributes to strengthening international justice mechanisms and addresses global developments and challenges that require increased attention.
The resolution presented this year proposes strengthening the mandate for genocide prevention within the framework of the UN80 reform process. It also draws attention to the risks posed by algorithmic systems and artificial intelligence tools, which can contribute to the spread of disinformation and hatred, affecting information flows and undermining human rights.
The “Prevention of Genocide” resolution also makes an important contribution to promoting the universal ratification of the Genocide Convention, encouraging states that have not yet acceded to it to do so without delay.
As in previous years, the resolution submitted by Armenia enjoys broad support from UN Member States representing all regional groups, as evidenced by the large number of co-sponsors, which had reached around six dozen at the time of adoption.
The resolution reaffirms Armenia’s call on the international community to unite in preventing the crime of genocide.
A resolution of the same name, previously submitted by Armenia, was also unanimously adopted on April 3, 2024, during the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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Armenia needs a selfless leader. N. Karapetyan about the Prime Minister
“Strong Armenia” party continues regional meetings with citizens. During the gathering held in Gavar, a member of the party’s council, Narek Karapetyan, stated that the state vitally needs a financially independent leader, whose only motivation will be the glory and well-being of the motherland, and presented Samvel Karapetyan as the candidate for the prime minister coming “on the path given by God”.
Addressing the audience, the politician responded to the criticisms directed at compatriots who have accumulated wealth outside the country’s borders. He suggested citizens to remember their relatives working abroad and to think whether living abroad makes a person less patriotic. In his deep conviction, living in the diaspora, on the contrary, intensifies the longing for the native home and strengthens the connection with the roots.
As a prime example, the speaker pointed to the founder of the party, Samvel Karapetyan, who created his capital in Russia and other countries. Narek Karapetyan emphasized that today Armenia is facing a serious crisis of leadership, which requires decisive changes, and it is their candidate who is ready to assume the responsibility of governing the country, guided solely by patriotic motives.
Reference: Samvel Karapetyan, a big businessman and the founder of the “Tashir” group of companies, began to actively form an independent political factor in Armenia against the background of the internal political crisis. His entry into big politics began with his public support for the Armenian Apostolic Church in the confrontation with the current authorities and the founding of the social movement “Our way”. At the beginning of 2026, the movement turned into the “Strong Armenia” party. Currently, although the billionaire is under house arrest as part of a criminal case, he has been officially nominated by his political force as a candidate for the country’s prime minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
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The failure of the prosecution. the court rejected the lawsuit against General Gabrielyan
The RA Anti-Corruption Court rejected the claim of the General Prosecutor’s Office against the first deputy of the former Chief Military Inspector of the President, Lieutenant General Garegin Gabrielyan. The state’s attempt to cancel a controversial land deal near Erablur has failed due to missing the statute of limitations, raising serious questions about the oversight agency’s actions.
At the center of the legal dispute was the plot of land with an area of more than 0.2 ha in the administrative region of Malatia-Sebastia, next to the “Erablur” pantheon, which the Ministry of Defense sold to Gabrielyan, known by the nickname “Gel” for 18.8 million drams back in 2005. In June of last year, the prosecutor’s office demanded to invalidate the contract, claiming that the area should be expropriated exclusively by auction, and demanded the return of the property or compensation for its value. The former official excused himself that the transaction was carried out solely to improve his housing conditions as a long-time employee of the Ministry of Defense.
The general’s defense team emphasized that the prosecutor’s office was not a proper plaintiff and, more importantly, that the one-year statute of limitations had been grossly violated. Judge R. Avagyan considered these arguments to be valid. The court recorded that the criminal proceedings regarding the expropriation of land at cheap prices by the officials of the Ministry of Defense were initiated in February 2022. Therefore, the plaintiff had to know about the alleged violation of the state’s interests from that time. However, the claim was filed only in July 2025, when the statutory deadlines had already expired.
The court’s verdict was a double blow to the prosecution. in addition to rejecting the claim, the court decided to expropriate 300,000 drams from the prosecutor’s office in favor of Gabrielyan as a reasonable attorney’s fee. The situation became more complicated on March 16, 2026, when the Appellate Anti-Corruption Court returned the appeal of the General Prosecutor’s Office. This process raises a logical question: whether the General Prosecutor Anna Vardapetyan was really not aware of the violations and did not order to file a lawsuit in time, or did she deliberately delay the process, giving the former high-ranking military officer the opportunity to win the case on the basis of statute of limitations.
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From greatness to failure. how the US lost the Middle East
The new US national security strategy, signed by Donald Trump just months ago, promised to get out of endless wars and abandon the role of global policeman. However, the reality proved diametrically opposite. America was involved in a large-scale and destructive conflict with Iran. Professor James C. Galbraith analyzes this paradox by asking: Has the current administration become the victim of a silent coup or has it simply lost control of its own policies?
According to University of Texas professor James K. Galbraith wrote in his article for Project Syndicate (translation provided by Mediamax agency), the US National Security Strategy (NSS) published in November 2025 was radically different from all previous doctrines. In an accompanying letter, President Donald Trump presented it as a road map for preserving America’s greatness, based on the ideals of the founding fathers, particularly the principle of non-interference in the affairs of other states. The document harshly criticized the former elites for allowing the Allies to shift the burden of defense onto American taxpayers and dragging the country into secondary conflicts.
One of the key messages of the AAR was the withdrawal of the US from the Middle East. The strategy noted that the region was losing its historical importance to Washington due to the growth of domestic energy production. The document’s authors asserted that the era when the Middle East dominated US foreign policy was over, and that threats could be contained ideologically and militarily, avoiding fruitless “state-building” wars.
However, on February 28, the US attacked Iran, a nation of 90 million people with a vast arsenal of missiles and drones, as well as a strong patriotic and religious spirit. Galbraith emphasizes that attacking such a country means starting a large-scale and exhausting war, which is radically contrary to the spirit of the November AAR. The professor rejects the theory that the strategy was merely a campaign ploy by Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as revealing the lie just three months later would have stripped the move of any political meaning.
Currently, the situation in the Middle East is developing in a catastrophic scenario. The Strait of Hormuz is closed to the ships of the Western coalition, and the world is experiencing an acute shortage of oil, gas, fertilizers and food. American bases in the Persian Gulf have been partially destroyed, and according to the author, the United States has already been pushed out of the region forever, even if Washington refuses to admit it for now. Galbraith offers three explanations for this enormous disconnect between strategy and reality. either the US government has completely lost its ability to function, or there has been a quiet coup d’etat in the country, turning Trump into a puppet, or, at best, America will have to leave the Middle East in a humiliating military defeat and a global economic crisis.
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ANCA-WR is Strengthening Community Through Presence, Education, and Engagement
Recent visits to Texas, San Diego, and Boston Reflected the Continued Importance of Youth Outreach, Civic Education, and Cross-Regional Coordination in Armenian-American Advocacy
In recent weeks, the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region’s Community Coordinator Garen Jinbachian participated in a series of community engagements in Texas, San Diego, and Boston, each of which served a distinct purpose while contributing to a broader pattern of outreach, education, and relationship-building.
Although each visit took place in a different setting and involved different audiences, all three reflected the importance of maintaining a consistent presence within Armenian-American communities and creating opportunities for discussion around civic participation, advocacy, and communal responsibility.
In Texas, participation in the AYF Houston Campout focused on educational sessions with both Juniors and Seniors, offering an opportunity to engage younger members of the community in discussions tailored to their respective age groups and levels of familiarity with public affairs and the Armenian Cause. With the Juniors, the sessions centered on the electoral process, the importance of voting, and the broader idea that civic participation is not separate from community life, but one of the ways in which a community protects and advances its interests. For many younger participants these kinds of discussions help establish a basic understanding of how public institutions function and why political involvement matters.
With the Seniors, the conversations extended into broader questions related to the role of the Diaspora, ongoing developments affecting Armenia, and the significance of organized advocacy in the United States. These discussions emphasized that political engagement requires more than general awareness; it depends on structure, consistency, and understanding how advocacy is carried out in practical terms. One of the key strengths of the Houston visit was that it took place in an environment where youth engagement was already being taken seriously by the local AYF, and ANCA, and reflected the value of combining informal community settings with substantive educational content. The importance of this kind of engagement lies not only in the content of any single session, but the longer-term process of helping younger Armenians view civic responsibility and advocacy as part of organized community life.
The visit to San Diego served somewhat different but equally important functions. The engagement with members of the local Armenian Church Youth Organization (ACYO), and the faithful Armenian-American community at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church provided an opportunity to speak with the community members in a setting grounded in parish life and intergenerational participation. The discussions included internship opportunities both in the Western Region, and Washington D.C., as well as broader pathways for involvement in Armenian-American organizational and advocacy work. In a community such as San Diego, these visits help reinforce the idea that participation in advocacy is not limited by location and that communities outside the most visible hubs remain an important part of the broader network.
A notable aspect of the San Diego visit was the strong turnaround and level of interest from attendees, with approximately 100 community members present. That level of participation reflected both the community’s attentiveness to issues affecting the Armenians and a clear interest in building stronger ties with organized advocacy efforts. The importance of this visit lay not only in presenting information, but in strengthening a relationship that can continue to grow over time. It also underscores the role that church and youth organizations can play as entry points for civic education, leadership development, and deeper involvement in public life.
In Boston, participation in the ANCA Eastern Region Grassroots Seminar added another dimension to this broader period of engagement. While visits to Texas and San Diego focused more directly on local youth and community outreach, the Boston seminar provided an opportunity to engage in a setting centered on grassroots advocacy, organizational exchange, and regional coordination. Bringing together advocates, community members, and organizers from different areas, the seminar created space for discussion about the practical work of advocacy, the challenges facing Armenian-American communities, and the importance of sustained grassroots structures.
The significance of the Boston seminar rests in its reminder that Armenian-American advocacy operates most effectively when it is not fragmented by geography. Regional work remains important, but so does coordination across communities and offices. Gatherings of this kind allow participants to compare experiences, assess different local dynamics, and better understand how shared priorities can be advanced through organized effort. In that sense, the seminar was not simply a standalone event, but part of the larger process of maintaining cohesion and continuity across the broader advocacy network.
Taken together, these visits reflected several important priorities: sustained youth outreach, ongoing civic education, stronger ties with local communities, and continued coordination with Armenian-American advocates across regions. Each event served a different audience and purpose, but all contributed to the same broader objective of keeping communities informed, connected, and engaged.
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Going to mass late, then creating a commotion in the church, like a government official
March: 30, 2026
Yesterday, another scandal involving Nikol Pashinyan took place in the capital. Last week, he became the center of noise in the Yerevan Metro, when he met a woman from Artsakh and called her “runaways”, and yesterday he was already in St. Anne’s Church.
There was a liturgy in the church dedicated to Palm Sunday, and Nikol Pashinyan decided that as part of his campaign, he could enter the church hand in hand, pushing everyone forward. The church was crowded, and Pashinyan’s bodyguards, pushing people, made way for the latter to go and stand in the first row. People got nervous. As a result, a stampede began in the Church. Currently, 3 people have been arrested in connection with the case, 2 of them are twin brothers, high school students.
Rev. Vrtanes Baghalyan, spiritual pastor of Saint Hovhannes Church in Byurakan, at 168.am detailed how an official should behave in the church, or how a citizen should behave in the church in general, especially if he enters the church in the middle of the liturgy.
“If the person is an official and he is accompanied by security, it is appropriate that he should attend the liturgy on time. First of all, it would be correct for the church to be aware of the arrival of the official in question, so that a place can be reserved for him in the church so that he can go and sit, and for that it is desirable that he should be present from the beginning of the liturgy. And it is not appropriate for a government official to go late to the liturgy and then create a commotion in the church. And in case of being late for the liturgy, decency requires them to be patient and wait, rather than the security guards clearing the way, punching people, etc., Father Vrtanes Baghalyan noted.
According to the cleric, if Nikol Pashinyan wanted to attend the liturgy, he could have visited the Cathedral, or Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Yerevan, which is a bigger church, and there would be no need to create a commotion.
“Well, if a person arrived late to the liturgy, it would be desirable to at least stay until the end, if you just have to go in and out, then there is no point in pushing people to get there and stand in front of them. He could have lit his candle at the candlestick, prayed and left quietly, instead of being late, pushing him to go forward, looking at the school-aged boy, knowing full well what attitude a part of our society has towards his anti-church attitude. Knowing all this well, he should not have provoked. If you go somewhere and insult the family’s grandparents, father and mother, it is possible, isn’t it, that the children will retaliate? If you address the Most Reverend Patriarch by the name of a priest, you are not respectful, you may be disrespected by ordinary believers. The attitude towards the 2 arrested brothers was not improper, even more towards Gevorg Gevorgyan,” Mr. Vrtanes added.
It is also unacceptable for a priest to use disproportionate force against a citizen in the church, when they hit a child and then arrest him.
“That person entered the church to conduct an election campaign, which he did not have the right to do. I have not seen members of other parties come to the church and do pre-election campaign. There were so many people in the church, except for them, no one wore party symbols. That person, together with his security officers, obstructed the performance of the ritual ceremony in the church, which is criminally prosecuted. Of course, in this regard, we do not hope that he will be held responsible for this,” emphasized our interlocutor.
Father Vrtanes also recalled the incident that happened between NA Speaker Alen Simonyan and a citizen the other day, where the citizen approached Alen Simonyan and asked if they could talk, after which the NA Speaker said, “Take him here.” The priest considers such speech of an official unacceptable, saying that he has no right to call a citizen “this”.
“Such officials should not be in our society.
The former officials would never have allowed such behavior in the church,” emphasized Father Vrtanes Baghalyan.
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