Iran opposes U.S.-brokered Zangezur Corridor amid Armenia visit

Iran has stepped up its opposition to the U.S.-brokered Zangezur Corridor, signaling it will block the planned route through southern Armenia that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and on to Turkey. Tehran has warned that outside control over strategic transport links in the South Caucasus would redraw regional dynamics and threaten Iran’s security. At the same time, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is leading a high-profile visit to Armenia to discuss bilateral cooperation and the corridor, underscoring a complex realignment of regional ties as Tehran seeks to protect its red lines while expanding economic and transport links with Yerevan.

The corridor, also known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, is part of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed earlier this month between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The plan envisions a path passing through southern Armenia to link Azerbaijan with its enclave of Nakhchivan and then onward to Turkey, with the United States granted exclusive development rights over the transport corridor. Iranian officials have framed the move as a strategic change that could alter border security and regional influence,...