Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iran’s newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed their country’s commitments during a telephone conversation on Tuesday.
The two leaders also agreed to meet in the near future, Pashinyan’s press secretary Nazeli Baghdasarayan said in a social media post announcing the call, during which, she said, Pashinyan again congratulated Pezeshkian on his victory.
Pezeshkian was elected Iran’s president on Friday in a runoff vote prompted by the death of the country’s former president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May along with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Upon Pezeshkian’s election, Pashinyan issued a congratulatory message, calling for continued deepening of Armenia-Iran relations.
“Relations with the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which have been steadily developing since the declaration of Armenia’s independence, are of special importance for the government and people of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said in the congratulatory message publicized by his office.
“Continuous deepening of warm relations between Armenia and Iran is of special importance in the context of both bilateral cooperation and regional stability and prosperity,” the Armenian leader added, expressing confidence that their two governments will implement Armenian-Iranian agreements and “launch a number of new programs.”
Pashinyan was among world leaders who attended Raisi’s funeral, on the margins of which he met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
During that meeting, Khamenei noted that the late Iranian president was “very sensitive to the border issues related to Armenia” and that “these sensitivities and cares should still be taken into consideration,” alluding to Tehran’s opposition to Azerbaijan’s scheme of establishing a land “corridor” through Armenia that would compromise Iran’s border with Armenia.
Saying Tehran and Yerevan “must be able to secure our interests on our own,” Khamenei reiterated Tehran’s concerns over Yerevan’s recent attempts to reorient Armenia toward the West.
In a related matter, Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan met with the Iran’s Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, on Tuesday.
Iran’s newly-appointed defense attache to Armenia, Colonel Mohammad Najafi, also attended the meeting, according to a ministry statement.
The discussion between Papikyan and the Iranian officials also touched on Armenia-Iran defense cooperation and regional security issues.
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