The regime’s top “hawk,” Ali Akbar Velayati—advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader on international affairs—openly declared that it was Iran that thwarted the implementation of the Zangezur Corridor, according to the Telegram channel Minval — LIVE.
Velayati, without a hint of embarrassment, described what he perceives as a “success” as “a vivid sign of the Islamic Republic’s power,” proudly claiming that “Iran has never been so influential.”
“When some countries attempted—under the pretext of creating the Zangezur Corridor—to connect Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan through Armenian territory, a project that essentially meant fragmenting and blocking Iran’s corridor to Europe, the Islamic Republic of Iran resolutely opposed this plan and prevented its realization,” he stated smugly.
Velayati then moved on to blatant falsehoods, alleging that former U.S. President Joe Biden “acknowledged” the corridor was ready to be launched but that Iran had allegedly stopped the project from being implemented—an obvious fabrication meant for domestic consumption.
“This statement shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran, even without Russia’s support, was able to use wise diplomacy to preserve security in the South Caucasus and prevent NATO’s penetration,” Velayati added, while deliberately ignoring the fact that NATO military and political structures have long been present in Armenia—right on Iran’s borders.
Ultimately, what is striking is the persistence of Iranian conservatives in attempting to derail a project whose implementation—much to their great disappointment—is inevitable sooner or later.
