As a result of the incident that took place in the Saint Anna Church, Gevorg Gevorgyan and Mikayel Minasyan were restrained and bailed. This was reported by the Central Committee.
Earlier, the RA Investigative Committee informed that during the preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings initiated in connection with the incident in Saint Anna Church in Yerevan, public criminal prosecution was initiated against 3 persons.
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An open letter to Nikol Pashinyan from the students and relatives of David and Michael.
“David and Mikael Minasyan are intelligent, educated, literate, developed, patriotic young people, children of a decent and modest family.
They have always distinguished themselves with excellent progress, they have been the pride of the school, as evidenced by dozens of commendations and certificates of honor.
During the years of study, they never allowed any hooliganism, they were peace-loving youths. David and Mikael are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church and participate in services every Sunday.
They have never been members of any political party, never joined any political force, the family is apolitical.
On Palm Sunday, they were present at the Holy Liturgy in St. Anna’s Church and during the prayer, they got into a stampede. They have never hurt or harmed anyone in their life, even more so a respectable person older than them. We are more than sure that there was no tendency to harm anyone in their actions on the day of the events.
Please, taking into account the above, do not put the fate of young men under attack. They are bright young people, full of dreams, bright goals, they can become suitable people for society and the state.”
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In the March 31 edition of the “Zhoghovurd” daily, an article with the caption “The campaign has started, but the CEC is unable to control” was published, which was reprinted in a number of mass media. The claim in the article is baseless and is probably the result of ignorance of RA legislation.
It should be noted that the RA CEC together with the Yerevan office of the Council of Europe held a two-day workshop three days ago, on March 28-29, for media representatives accredited to cover the elections. The legislation was presented to journalists in detail, including how pre-election campaigning, control, and coverage are regulated. The author of the article also participated in the workshop.
We remind you once again that pre-election campaigning is regulated by Articles 19 to 23 of the Electoral Code of the Constitutional Law.
The pre-election campaign period is the period defined by the Electoral Code, during which the rules defined by the Electoral Code apply in order to provide equal opportunities to the parties (parties’ alliances) and candidates participating in the elections, to use public resources, conduct campaign and ensure financial transparency.
In the case of the National Assembly elections to be held on June 7, 2026, the pre-election campaign period is from May 8 to June 5. Pre-election campaigning is prohibited on June 6, the day before voting, and until 20:00 on the day of voting. In the remaining terms, political forces and political figures are free to carry out propaganda.
The Electoral Code specifically stipulates that the pre-election campaign period does not restrict campaigning in other periods not prohibited by the Code.
We repeat that before the pre-election campaign period, any political force can carry out propaganda, meet with citizens, visit the settlements of Armenia and do any action that is not prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
We also remind you that the nomination period for the NA elections to be held on June 7 is April 13-23, and the deadline for registration is May 3.
We urge our media partners to follow the provisions of the “Electoral Code and Constitutional Law” when covering the National Assembly elections, and not to spread misinformation about the role and functions of the CEC.
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Today, the Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation handed over medicines and medical supplies to the Iranian Embassy in Armenia.
ARF Artsakh Central Committee representative Ara Puluzyan said in an interview with Yerkir.am that this humanitarian aid is a manifestation of gratitude to the people of Iran, because in the difficult days of Armenia and Artsakh, neighboring and friendly Iran was next to the Armenian people.
“Of course, no aid is able to alleviate the pain of the friendly people of Iran, but as human beings, as doctors, we are obliged to be next to the people in pain and sorrow,” said Henrik Margaryan, a surgeon at “Tonoyan” Medical Center, a participant of the 44th day, stating that the experience of being a participant in the war helped him in choosing medical supplies.
The humanitarian aid was received by Iran’s deputy ambassador to RA, thanking him for standing by the people of Iran in these difficult days.
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A scene from the popular demonstration that led to Armenia’s Independence in 1991
A court in Yerevan has banned the screening and distribution of a film about the 1990’s Armenian Independence movement, which has references to the 1988 Karabakh Liberation Movement. The court sided with a lawsuit filed by Armenia’s Public Broadcaster.
The film, “Our Path to Independence” was directed by Tigran Paskevichyan and produced on commission by Public Television of Armenia—the very entity that brought the lawsuit. The court ruling prevents the film from being screened in the public.
The decision effectively prevents audiences from seeing the progression of the 1988 Karabakh movement and the declaration of independence in 1990, Paskevichyan told CivilNet.
The broadcaster argued in court that it owns the rights to the film because it financed the project.
“They say, we paid for it, so we bought it,” the director told Civilnet, adding that he would have accepted such a claim from a private company, but not from the public broadcaster.
The lawsuit was partly based on a screening held on May 2, 2025, at the headquarters of the opposition Armenian National Congress political party. Paskevichyan said he screened the film not only on that date but on multiple other occasions.
Before the legal dispute, the director had asked the broadcaster for permission to screen the film on other platforms but received no response. Despite the ruling, he said he plans to continue organizing screenings.
The chairman of the Public Broadcaster’s Council, Vasak Darbinyan, told CivilNet he was unaware of the case. Other council members could not be reached either.
This is not the first time Paskevichyan has faced obstacles in screening his work. His earlier film, Armenia’s Lost Spring, about the March 1, 2008 violence and the events that preceded it, also struggled to secure venues. He said similar restrictions existed under both former presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsian, but described the current situation as unprecedented.
“Something has always been banned under every administration, but reaching the point where you are not even allowed to show your own film is the ultimate low,” he said.
Independence narrative under renewed scrutiny
The controversy comes amid broader political debates over Armenia’s independence narrative. The 1990 Declaration of Independence, which references the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, has become a point of contention in both domestic and foreign policy discussions.
Azerbaijan has called the reference a challenge to its territorial integrity and has demanded constitutional changes as part of peace negotiations. Armenian authorities have launched a constitutional reform process, and a new draft is expected to remove references to the declaration.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament last week that the declaration had embedded a “logic of conflict” in Armenia’s statehood.
“If you build your independence on conflict with all your neighbors, you make it impossible to live in your environment without external help,” he said, adding that such a framework increases dependence on outside actors.
The controversy can also be tied to Pashinyan’s rejection of the concept “historical justice,” which he said continuously paints Armenians as victims and prevents complete acceptance of their status as Armenians.
His reference, made last week, was directed to forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians, who, he claimed should “settle down” in Armenia and accept their fate, without seeking justice for their displacement, which has been deemed ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan said that by claiming ethnic cleansing Armenia was opening the door to counter claims of the same crimes by others.
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Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry
While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan angrily rejected the concept of “historical justice,” saying it degrades Armenians as victims, official Baku is pursuing the case for the so-called “Azerbaijani Genocide of 1918” supposedly carried out by Armenians.
“The people of Azerbaijan will never forget these tragic chapters of its history,” declared a statement by Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday, which apparently has designated March 31 as the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.”
In another blow to the decades-long fight for rights and the pursuit of the Armenian Cause, Pashinyan on Thursday lashed out by rejecting the notion of historical justice, saying the focus must remain the present. He also deemed the pursuit of the Armenian Cause as “Anti-Armenian.”
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, in its statement, claimed that in March 1918 6,000 “armed units of Baku Soviet,” with the assistance of another 4,000 members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation carried out massacres against Azerbaijani ahead of the both Armenia and Azerbaijan declaring independence in May of that year.
“This bloody policy of genocide at the beginning of the 20th century was continued in subsequent periods, and towards the end of the century it took on a systematic character with the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territory of present-day Armenia, the massacres committed during the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, especially the Khojaly genocide, and other war crimes,” the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said.
Of course, official Baku made no reference of the violent pogroms it perpetrated against Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Shahumian in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Nor did it address Azerbaijan’s brutal attack on Artsakh in 2023, which resulted in the forcible displacement of the Armenian population there.
At press time there were no statement by Armenia’s Foreign Ministry addressing its Azerbaijani counterpart.
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Arch. Krikor Chiftjian releases a dove as a symbol of peace during Palm Sunday services in Iran on Mar. 29
Armenian churches in Iran solemnly marked Palm Sunday, despite the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks on the country, which thus far have claimed one Armenian fatality.
The St. Sarkis, St. Gregory the Illuminator, and St. Minas churches in Tehran, as well as the St. Stepanos and St. Garabed in Nor Julfa, Isfahan held Palm Sunday services, with children participating in the traditional procession of candles, “asking God to grant peace to Iran and the world,” the Beirut-based Aztag Daily newspaper reported.
In their sermons, the spiritual leaders offered prayers, emphasizing that despite the incessant bombardments, the Iranian-Armenian community was able to endure with minimal damage.
“They prayed that on the occasion of Palm Sunday, the brightest holiday of the church, God would put an end to the prevailing state of war, devastation, destruction and deaths, and grant peace to all,” Aztag reported.
Visiting Injured Armenians
On Sunday evening, Ara Shahverdian, a lawmaker representing the Armenian community of Tehran and Northern Iran, accompanied by Reverend Arakel Kahtejian, who is the assistant to Tehran Prelate Archbishop Sebouh Sargsyan, as well as other community leaders visited the Silva and Norig Khachatrian, who were wounded in the first days of the war and are in recovering. The couple’s apartment and vehicle were severely damaged.
The Khachatrians provided the visiting delegation with a detailed account of the events, as well as the status of their recovery. The compensation from the state for the damages was also discussed.
The Palm Sunday services took placed two days after it was reported that Hovhannes Simonian, a resident of the Armenian-populated New Djulfa neighborhood in Isfahan was killed after on Thursday as a result of heavy bombing of the city.
The US-Israeli airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Isfahan on Thursday claimed the lives of 26 people, Iranian officials confirmed Friday. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, citing the Isfahan Governor’s Office, the victims of Thursday’s attack included seven women and seven children—more than half of the total fatalities.
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Humanitarian aid by the ARF at Iran’s Embassy in Yerevan
At the initiative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau a large amount of medicine and other medical supplies were delivered to Iran’s Embassy in Armenia on Tuesday.
The delivery of humanitarian assistance is a sign of gratitude toward the people of Iran, since during difficult times for Armenia and Artsakh Iran—an ally and neighbor—has supported the people of Armenia, Ara Poulouzian, the chair of the ARF Artsakh Central Committee told Yerkir.am.
“Of course, no amount of aid or assistance will alleviate or comfort the pain of the friendly people of Iran. As human beings, as doctors, we are obligated to be at the side of people during their time of pain and sorrow,” said Henrik Margaryan, a surgeon at the Tonoyan Medical Center who participated in 44-Day Artsakh War.
Margaryan said that his experience in the war was crucial in determining what type of medical supplies would be included in the package.
The humanitarian aid was accepted by the Deputy Ambassador of Iran Armenia, who expressed gratitude on behalf of Iranians during these difficult times.
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March: 31, 2026
A:some American think tanks think that The Trump administration has many wrong made assumptions that led to the devastating consequences of this conflict with Iran. Perhaps the most ironic of these is that the occupant of the Oval Office appears to have downplayed or denied altogether the possibility that the Iranians would close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of a war with Iran.: This is not just a reservation, but rather an abuse of foreign policy, a truly inexplicable omission that was discussed at the March 18 House Global Threats hearing.
The conflict between the US and Iran has been the focus of countless war games and military exercises for decades. Frequent simulations conducted by think tanks, military colleges, and intelligence services provide important insight into adversary behavior and allow for the summation of accumulated experience and best practices, as well as the development of many possible scenarios that can be used in US military planning. so the likelihood that Iran would stick to a strategy of exhausting its adversary through economic warfare was abundantly clear and openly debated by scholars, analysts, and military strategists.
In addition to faulty assumptions, Washington’s strategic communications hindered the conduct of the military campaign: Almost two weeks ago, Trump announced. “I think the war is almost over,” insisting it would be “mostly over in two or three days.” But the war is dragging on, and now the Pentagon is asking for an additional $200 billion to fund the military campaign. There is more and more talk of a ground operation, which is fraught with drawing the aggressor into the Middle East “quagmire”.: Given that the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is on its way to the Persian Gulf from Asia, and more than 50,000 troops are already in the region, the conflict is likely to escalate rather than be resolved anytime soon. It is obvious that the Netanyahu regime intends to further escalate the conflict, as evidenced by the attack on the Iranian energy infrastructure in the South Pars gas field., which provoked Iran’s retaliatory actions in a number of energy facilities in the region, including targeting the Ras Laffan gas refinery in Qatar, multiple facilities in Saudi Arabia, and the Haifa oil refinery, which was hit by a ballistic missile. According to the statement of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on March 27, the United States and Israel struck the uranium concentrate production plant in the city of Erdekan, Yazd province.
The US and Israel clearly underestimated Iran’s tenacity and possibly its own missile defense capabilities.: According to Bloomberg, the US has lost at least 16 aircraft and drones to date, including at least ten Reaper drones. According to CNN, the 5th generation F-35 stealth fighter, whose production cost is 80-100 million dollars, was forced to land at a base in the region after it was allegedly hit by an Iranian missile. American bases in the region have been repeatedly shelled and embassies have been forced to evacuate.
The showman of the White House makes one appeal to NATO allies for help, one criticizes them, calling them useless and ungrateful. Unsurprisingly, in such a chaotic environment, he was unable to gain the support of allies to achieve key US goals, such as opening the Strait of Hormuz. There have been other attempts that look unprofessional. For example, the Wall Street Journal reports that just then, with the outbreak of war against Iran, the US Navy decommissioned 4 specialized ships for mine clearance. Another stunning blow to the State Department’s structure was the reduction in staff and resources of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.։ Clearly unaware of regional realities, the Trump administration even abolished the special Iran department and merged it with the Iraq department.
Aside from the administration’s ill-advised assumptions, a list of obvious and unintended consequences of this war, including attacks on the Persian Gulf and the risk of a spike in oil prices, is obvious to any more or less literate professional. In addition, the Trump administration appears to believe that the war could end quickly. Perhaps Operation Delta to capture Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his wife has led Trump to a fundamentally wrong conclusion about the success of such an adventure in other regions of the world. Iran is a country with a completely different history, geography, demographics and culture. The top leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was formed during the bloody 1980-1988 war with Iraq, which ostensibly united Iranian society against an external enemy.
Despite heavy losses, Iran has so far managed to avoid regime overthrow and systematic destruction of key targets, missile depots and other critical command-and-control hubs by the US and Israel.: Tehran admits that it cannot win a conventional military conflict against the US and Israel, but asymmetric tactics, “mosaic defense” and readiness for decisive action are greatly changing the picture of the battlefield. Cheap Iranian drones are knocking out the expensive batteries of THAAD and Patriot anti-missile systems. Despite the overwhelming firepower of the aggressors, the Iranians have begun to use cluster munitions and mobile launchers more actively.
American bases guarantee the protection of member states of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. Ironically, the very deal the Gulf monarchies struck to protect themselves from Iran makes them a target for its missiles and drones. As a result of this war, which affected the entire region, the relationship between the US and the Persian Gulf countries could change radically, and obviously not for the better.:
“The goals the president has identified are different from the goals of the Israeli government,” Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard said during a recent House hearing. During the meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Trump said: “I told Netanyahu not to attack oil and gas facilities anymore. We operate independently and have a great relationship. We agree on everything, but sometimes he does something that I don’t like, and then… That’s why we don’t do it anymore.” The Trump administration’s inability to explain how the Iran war will end is another troubling storyline. Israel clearly seeks the total overthrow of the regime, but a more likely scenario is the weakening but not the complete destruction of the IRGC, which will have the money and weapons to continue the fight.: It is possible that certain regions of the country, especially where ethnic armed groups may become active, may go beyond the control of the authorities. A protracted crisis could turn into an all-out war that could spill over and destabilize the situation in neighboring countries.
According to American intelligence reports in the press, the Iranian regime is likely to survive this conflict. Furthermore, he may be trying to develop a nuclear bomb at an accelerated pace, seeing it as the only viable defense against future attacks. If this happens, it will inevitably lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
How long the hostilities will last is unclear, but judging by requests for additional funding and additional troop deployments, Washington is planning a protracted campaign.
ALEXANDER GREGORY:V:
Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan
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March: 31, 2026
Ruben Mkhitaryan writes on his Facebook page. “From the beginning, 18-year-olds fell at the feet and begged to close the street.
Then he started a war and killed 18-year-olds in order not to burn his hands.
Then he invented selective graves of the dead 18-year-olds and divided their parents into Iranians and Iranians.
Now 18-year-olds are taken to court in handcuffs.
Tomorrow it will be forbidden to live until the age of 18.
This is it. Until June 7, you will get to know him very closely.”
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