Mon Aug 18 15:50:48 UTC 2025: ## Iran Vows to Block US-Brokered Corridor Deal, Cites Security Concerns
**Yerevan, Armenia** – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is in Armenia for high-stakes talks regarding a planned corridor connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave, a project dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP). Iran has voiced strong opposition to the US-brokered deal, signaling a potential clash of interests in the Caucasus region.
The TRIPP agreement, signed earlier this month between Armenia and Azerbaijan with US mediation, grants the US exclusive developmental rights to the transport corridor, along with bilateral agreements to increase cooperation in energy, trade, technology, and artificial intelligence.
However, Tehran views the prospect of a significant US presence in the region with suspicion. Before departing for Yerevan, Pezeshkian described the potential involvement of American companies as “worrying,” and stated his intention to express these concerns to Armenian officials.
Iran fears the corridor, also known as the Zangezur corridor, would sever its connection to Armenia and the Caucasus, while potentially positioning “hostile foreign forces” near its borders. Iranian officials have warned Armenia that the project could be part of a US strategy to exert “hegemonic goals” in the region.
“They [Armenian officials] have assured us that no American forces … or American security companies will be present in Armenia under the pretext of this route,” stated Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, reflecting Tehran’s heightened anxieties.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, went further, declaring Tehran would block the initiative “with or without Russia,” dismissing Trump’s approach as treating the Caucasus as a “piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” warning it would become “a graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries”.
While Russia, a strategic ally of both Iran and Armenia, has cautiously welcomed the deal as a step towards regional stability, it also echoed Iran’s concerns regarding outside intervention, emphasizing that lasting solutions should originate within the region.
The corridor’s emergence follows decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, culminating in Azerbaijan’s retaking of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, leading to a mass exodus of the ethnic Armenian population. The current tensions surrounding the TRIPP agreement underscore the complex geopolitical dynamics at play in the Caucasus, with Iran determined to safeguard its security interests and regional influence.
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