PanARMENIAN.Net - Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, stated that Iran blocked attempts to establish the so-called "Zangezur Corridor," reports Tasnim News Agency.

According to Velayati, "Iran has never been as strong, independent, and influential as it is today," with its swift and firm response to the South Caucasus crisis being one of the clearest signs of that strength, as quoted by Sputnik Armenia.

"When certain countries attempted to connect Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan via Armenia under the pretext of creating the 'Zangezur Corridor'-a project that would effectively fragment the region and block Iran's corridor to Europe-the Islamic Republic of Iran resolutely opposed and thwarted its implementation," Velayati said.

He claimed that former U.S. President Joe Biden had admitted that everything was ready for the corridor's activation, but Iran's resistance ultimately derailed the project.

"This statement proves that the Islamic Republic of Iran, even without Russia's support, managed through sound diplomacy to maintain regional security in the South Caucasus and prevent NATO's intrusion," Velayati declared.

He emphasized that Iran's presence in the South Caucasus serves both national interests and as a major deterrent to external powers' interference.

Velayati further noted that the corridor plan aimed not only to isolate Iran from the north but also to encircle Russia from the south-goals which, he claimed, were also thwarted.

Tehran has consistently opposed the idea of an extraterritorial corridor, labeling it a threat backed by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has said Baku has no territorial claims against Armenia but insists on uninterrupted access between Nakhichevan and western Azerbaijan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that Armenia is willing to open a railway link between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan's western regions, but only under Armenian jurisdiction.

Source: PanArmenian.Net