Iran Engages Armenia on Zangezur, Asserts 'Zero Trust' in US

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — In a major diplomatic development concerning the strategic Zangezur Corridor (now referred to as Trump Corridor), Iran has initiated high-level consultations with Armenia to address its profound concerns over the project, while simultaneously delivering a scathing rebuke of the United States, declaring a state of "zero trust" in Washington following a recent attack on Iranian territory. 

These declarations, made during a comprehensive weekly press briefing by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei and reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), paint a picture of a nation actively managing regional threats while hardening its stance against Western powers.

Addressing the sensitive issue of the Zangezur Corridor, which is located along Armenia's border with Iran, Baqaei confirmed that Tehran is in close and ongoing contact with its neighbors in the South Caucasus. He revealed that long-standing discussions on the matter are escalating, with high-level talks scheduled to ensure Iran’s "considerations and concerns" are fully understood.

According to the IRNA report, the spokesperson announced that the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister was scheduled to arrive in Tehran the following day for detailed consultations. Furthermore, he stated that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is set to hold talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to provide direct explanations about recent developments.

Baqaei added a crucial point of reassurance from Yerevan, noting that the top Armenian diplomat has emphasized that his country will refrain from any action that is "in any way, incompatible or worrying for the Islamic Republic of Iran."

This diplomatic engagement was further substantiated by a separate IRNA report on a telephone conversation between Iran's President Pezeshkian and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan.

During the call, the Armenian leader reportedly briefed his Iranian counterpart on the outcomes of recent Yerevan-Baku negotiations held in Washington. Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that any new regional pathways will operate strictly "within the framework of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the jurisdiction of countries," a principle that directly addresses Iran's core anxieties about potential changes to international borders.

On Saturday, the most forceful rejection of the Zangezur project came from Ali Akbar Velayati, Advisor to the Supreme Leader on International Affairs, in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with the Tasnim News Agency.

Responding directly to a U.S.-backed peace deal that reportedly includes a 99-year lease for the corridor, Velayati issued an uncompromising threat. "Does Trump think the South Caucasus is an ownerless region that he can lease?" he asked rhetorically.

"The Caucasus is one of the most sensitive geographical points in the world, and this passage will not become a corridor owned by Trump, but a graveyard for Trump's mercenaries." He dismissed the leasing idea as a "naive statement" and declared that Iran would block its creation "with or without Russia." Velayati stressed that the corridor fundamentally alters the region's geopolitical landscape, shifts established borders, and is designed to partition Armenia, allowing NATO to "place itself like a viper between Iran and Russia."

Transitioning from regional diplomacy to its confrontational stance with Washington, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson delivered an unequivocal statement regarding the prospects for negotiation with the United States.

Baqaei asserted that Iran’s trust in the US, already non-existent, has been completely obliterated. "The Zionist regime’s attack in the middle of the negotiations and then the US participation in that attack left with 'zero trust'," he stated emphatically.

He stressed that Iran's Armed Forces will continue to pursue all necessary measures to guarantee the country's independence and territorial integrity, while the Foreign Ministry will use its diplomatic capacity to advance national interests.

He also flatly rejected claims that Norway would host a new round of indirect talks and dismissed the US Secretary of State's narrative that the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was intended to prevent a wider regional war.

On the nuclear front, Baqaei confirmed that the Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had arrived in Tehran and begun consultations, with a meeting scheduled with Foreign Ministry officials. However, he cautioned that "it is too early to predict the outcome of these talks."

The spokesperson also issued a sharp critique of the nuclear watchdog, highlighting what he described as a failure to respond appropriately to the attack on one of Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities, which he noted was under 24-hour IAEA supervision.

In a direct warning to European powers, the spokesperson addressed the potential triggering of the so-called "snapback" mechanism, which would automatically reimpose UN sanctions.

Baqaei stated that any attempt by Britain, France, and Germany to use this mechanism would prove their "non-seriousness" and would only serve to further expose their failure to fulfill their own obligations under the JCPOA nuclear deal.

"If Europe wishes to play a constructive, effective, and credible role in the nuclear negotiations, it must review its approach," he said, according to IRNA. "Threatening Iran will certainly not yield any results, except to marginalize Europe even more than before."

Despite this firm warning, Baqaei clarified that diplomatic channels with Europe have not been severed. In response to a question, he stated that the negotiation process with the European countries has not stopped. He explained that both sides had agreed during talks in Istanbul two weeks prior to continue their dialogue, and that only the specific time and place for the next round had yet to be decided.

The spokesperson also affirmed that Iran is formally pursuing legal recourse for what it deems acts of aggression. He told reporters that the Foreign Ministry is seriously documenting and pursuing action against Israeli and US aggression and war crimes.

He detailed that the ministry’s international department is conducting the necessary correspondence with the United Nations and other relevant organizations and is in close contact with Iran's judiciary to advance the filing of a lawsuit with competent international authorities.

During his briefing, Baqaei also addressed several other key issues. He reaffirmed Iran's support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stating that "the Israeli regime cannot be contained in any other way except by equipping countries with the necessary capabilities to defend themselves."

He characterized the issue of Hezbollah's weapons as a purely internal Lebanese affair. He also paid tribute to Iranian diplomats and an IRNA reporter martyred in Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998 and condemned attacks on journalists in Gaza as "brutal war crimes," noting that at least 240 media personnel have been killed.

Finally, he rejected the Israeli cabinet’s plan for the occupation of Gaza, stating it was clear from the beginning that the goal was the "eliminate Palestine as an identity, a nation, and a country."