The so-called “Zangezur corridor” sought by Baku but strongly opposed by Tehran would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering the Islamic Republic. Iranian leaders have repeatedly warned against attempts to strip Iran of its common border with Armenia.
The ongoing conflict triggered by Israel’s June 13 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites stoked fears of an Azerbaijani attack in Armenia. The Armenian government has signaled no such concerns, however.
Prompting opposition criticism, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian did not cancel his participation in an international conference in Prague on Friday and flew to the Czech capital right after the outbreak of the conflict. As of Monday evening, Pashinian did not convene an emergency session of Armenia’s Security Council to discuss the situation in and around Iran and its implications for Armenia. The secretary of the council, Armen Grigorian, said on Friday that Yerevan has “no information” about possible Azerbaijani military aggression.
“If there is a large-scale military conflict in the region, Azerbaijan could use this opportunity to … launch another aggression against Armenia,” said Hayk Mamijanian, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc. He pointed to Azerbaijan’s close military ties with Israel.
“Azerbaijan’s as well as Turkey’s rhetoric poses a serious threat in this turbulent situation,” said Gegham Manukian, a leading member of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun).
Manukian noted that Israel began its military campaign amid a fresh Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercise held in Nakhichevan. Ishkhan Saghatelian, another Dashnaktsutyun leader, echoed his concerns on Monday.
“Have these authorities taken appropriate steps to prevent [an Azerbaijani attack?] I’m not sure,” Saghatelian told reporters.
Speaking during the Prague conference on Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s top foreign policy aide, Hikmet Hajizade, said Yerevan should take an “important first step towards the ‘Zangezur corridor.’” Pashinian’s government has ruled out, at least until now, any extraterritorial transport links between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan that would compromise Armenian control over them.