Continued Criticism of Russia's Support for the Zangezur Corridor; Behzadi to Meet with Putin in November

As criticism in Iran increases regarding Russia's support for the establishment of the Zangezur corridor, media reports indicate a planned meeting between Masoud Behzadi and Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. Iran officially joined the BRICS member countries in January of this year, and the upcoming summit of the group's leaders will be held from October 22 to 24, less than two months away, in Kazan, in southwestern Russia. Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow, announced this in an interview with TASS news agency, but did not comment on the repeated objections from Iranian officials regarding Russia's emphasis on "cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey" concerning the opening of the Zangezur corridor. Following reports of Vladimir Putin's "welcome" to the establishment of the Zangezur corridor, over which Iran and Azerbaijan have disputes, Iranian officials have begun to express clear opinions on the matter. After the news of Iran's opposition to what is referred to as the "change of international borders" in relation to the reopening of this corridor was published, criticisms from the Islamic Republic were conveyed to the Russian ambassador in Tehran. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, also indirectly warned Russia via a message on X that "the redrawing of borders is Iran's red line." Reactions to Moscow's support for the establishment of this corridor, despite Iran and Armenia's objections, continue, and in addition to several newspapers and social media users, Ali Nikzad, the deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has advised Russia and Azerbaijan to "respect borders." He also wrote on X: "The strategic policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding borders, neighbors, and corridors are stable and based on national interests." Ibrahim Azizi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Assembly, also reacted to Russia's support for the opening of the Zangezur corridor, stating: "Essentially, the Zangezur corridor is a fake corridor, and apparently there are hands at work to reduce Iran's military and political power in the region under the pretext of this corridor, and we warn those who pursue such delusions that the consequences of such decisions will be heavy and costly for them." The newspaper Jomhouri Eslami also wrote to the Iranian president that the Russians are "not trustworthy" and that their "dagger" should be "blunted." The note stated: "After the deception regarding the JCPOA, dragging Iran into the Ukraine issue, and cooperating with the Gulf sheikhs in denying Iran's ownership of the three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, now Russia has plans for Zangezur." This newspaper explicitly called on the fourteenth government to "stand firmly against Russia's greed for the creation of the Zangezur corridor" and, given the "violations by the Russians in recent years and their betrayals in their relations with Iran," to "avoid over-reliance on Russia so that their dagger can be blunted." The newspapers Shargh and Ham-Mihan also reacted to this issue in their editions on Saturday, September 17, with headlines such as Putin's attempt to threaten Iran geopolitically and the Russian plot. In recent days, several Persian-language media outlets reported, citing the press service of the Azerbaijani presidential office, that Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, discussed the opening of a transport corridor between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the autonomous Nakhchivan Republic (known as Zangezur) in a phone conversation. The opening of the Zangezur corridor was one of the conditions of the ceasefire in the fall of 2020 between Azerbaijan and Armenia, mediated by Russia. However, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated on July 30 of this year during a meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, who was in Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's president, that Iran opposes the establishment of this corridor and considers it contrary to its interests. Iranian media referred to the proposal presented by Mr. Pashinyan last fall at the Silk Road summit in Tbilisi as the "Peace Crossroads," stating that it circumvents the Zangezur corridor and Iran together, and that Yerevan's plan renders this corridor baseless and deprives Iran of its transit routes in its northwestern borders. The Iranian Foreign Ministry official expressed opposition to changes in international borders during a meeting with the Russian ambassador. Criticism of Russia for supporting the Zangezur corridor in Iran comes at a time when the Islamic Republic has increasingly tied its interests to Russia in recent years, following heightened tensions with the West over its nuclear and missile programs and regional interventions. Cooperation between the two countries in the Syrian civil war in favor of Bashar al-Assad, and military collaborations including the sale of drones and missiles from Iran to Moscow, have repeatedly sparked controversy and even led to further sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, at least in the public opinion of Iranian citizens, there is a negative perception of Russia due to historical past.