Iran Leader Meets With Tajik President, Armenian Prime Minister

In a meeting on Tuesday with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his accompanying delegation, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s definitive and consistent policy is to expand relations with its neighbors, especially Armenia.

Imam Khamenei also called for the development of relations and cooperation between the two countries based on defined interests of both nations and regardless of the policies of other states.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution went on to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the Zangezur corridor – a concept for a transport corridor which, if implemented, would give Azerbaijan unimpeded access to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic – to be to the detriment of Armenia; therefore, Iran continues to stand by this position.

Foreigners should not place restrictions on the relations of countries with their neighbors, the Leader stated, arguing that what ensures the security and well-being of countries is reliance on themselves and their close allies, and the actions of some states who come from far away and interfere in the affairs of other nations are to their detriment.

The Armenian Prime Minister, for his part, emphasized that he has repeatedly stated that he does not accept any extra-regional route within his country, describing the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia as strategic. The Armenian premier also expressed satisfaction with the expansion and diversification of ties with Iran, underscoring that he gives importance to the continuation of this process.

In another meeting on Tuesday morning, Imam Khamenei received Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his accompanying delegation.

The Supreme Leader said that Iran’s main policy and priority is to expand relations with the countries of the region, especially states with the same language and common culture, history and religion.

Ayatollah Khamenei further emphasized: The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to cooperate sincerely with Tajikistan in various fields, as in the past.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also called the official visits by authorities of the two nations a basis for the expansion of cooperation and said: The Persian language is one of the important commonalities between Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and more cooperation should be made to preserve and expand this language and prevent some attempts to isolate the shared language.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also noted: There are some opponents who disagree the expansion of relations between Iran and Tajikistan; thus, there must be a plan to confront them.

The President of Tajikistan, for his turn, said: As you said a few years ago, the two countries are linked and we want to expand relations and use the experiences and advances of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the fields of science, health and industry.

The top officials of Armenia and Tajikistan along with their accompanying delegations arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning in order to take part in the inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, the ninth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Tuesday (July 30) at the Iranian parliament. More than 70 foreign delegations and 600 domestic and foreign journalists attended the inauguration ceremony at 6 p.m. local time.