Khalil Shirgholami noted that the Azerbaijani leadership continues to refer to the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) as an extraterritorial “Zangezur corridor” that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave and Turkey via Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering Iran.
“Azerbaijan's leaders continue to speak very openly and directly about the ‘Zangezur corridor,’” Civilnet.am quoted Shirgholami as saying during a conference in Yerevan. “We, for our part, clearly state that any geopolitical change or any harm to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia is unacceptable. This is our first condition for the implementation of the TRIPP project.”
“Based on these two conditions -- that Armenia's territorial integrity and sovereignty remain unharmed and that there is no U.S. military or security presence near the borders -- we have no reason to oppose this project, provided it contributes to the development and well-being of the Armenian people,” he added, according to News.am.
Shirgholami said in July that the Armenian government must address Tehran’s “very legitimate and logical” concerns over the TRIPP. The diplomat called for the creation of a “mechanism” to manage “potential risks of U.S. presence and threats to Iran” emanating from the transit arrangement. The U.S. and Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic underlined the perceived risks, he said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian indicated the next day that he is undeterred by the Iranian warnings. Speaking in New York on Tuesday, he said the TRIPP “will open a new era for our country and economy.”
The agreement on the transit corridor was reached during an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington in August 2025. Pashinian has since continued to assert that peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Shirgholami sounded more cautious in that regard on Wednesday.
“If Armenia and Azerbaijan really want peace, a genuine balance of forces between them is necessary,” said the Iranian envoy. “Otherwise, the peace will be fragile.”