“We must clearly note that Armenia’s territorial integrity has been violated. The enemy’s forces are standing on Armenia’s sovereign territory. Therefore, it is important that Armenia, as a country, implement clear informational policies. Not only does our society form opinions based on those informational policies, but so do our partners, experts, and sometimes even individual officials,” Iranologist Vardan Voskanyan said at the Tesaket press club in reference to the developments that have taken place over the past few days.
According to the Iranologist, it was due to our informational chaos that Iran did not understand what was happening until the Security Council’s midnight session. Only after that did Iran make official statements, which, essentially, came in two forms. One was from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the level of the spokesperson. The Iranologist evaluated this statement as such: “Their statement was constrained, perhaps objective, but it did not reflect the circumstances of the invasion of Armenia’s territory.”
After that was the statement made by the chairperson of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee to the Russian Sputnik agency, where, according to the speaker, Iran’s position was expressed much more openly. The statement particularly said that Iran would not allow changes in the territorial integrity of any of its neighboring northern states. There was also a reference to the fact that the Iranian side agrees to having Armenia’s territorial integrity maintained.
“The Armenian border is important to Iran due to the fact that the route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea was used within the framework of their geopolitical plans, especially after the 44-Day War, when Azerbaijan occupied territories near the Artsakh-Iran border. Therefore, the exit to the north is of exceptional importance for Iran. Armenia is an alternative to the Turkish-Azerbaijani routes. The Iranians do not want this alternative to be lost or endangered,” Vardan Voskanyan said, adding that there were discussions in Yerevan and Tehran as well, where the Iranian minister met with the Armenian ambassador.
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“Statements are being made in Baku that the Zangezur corridor will be established. Within this context, the Iranians are trying to prevent the implementation of any possible corridor passing through Armenian territory that would connect Turkey and Azerbaijan and exit through the Turkic states. We should not forget about the plans to create a Turkic army, which Turkey is discussing with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
We also must consider the Russian side’s position, according to which routes must be opened. But, at the same time, the Russians would not want for the Turks to achieve their goals. This means that we have the opportunity to respond to Azerbaijan’s aggression through the Armenia-Iran-Russia format. Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of that opportunity. The reason is within Armenia. We do not have a will, we do not have the abilities, and we are uninformed about the developments in the region. For example, the situation has formed where Azerbaijan’s two allies are now against each other. Israel, which is Azerbaijan’s main weapons supplier, and Turkey, whose president, Erdogan, considers Ilham Aliyev to be his brother, are now in opposite positions in the Israel-Palestine conflict, where Turkey is seemingly trying to defend the rights of the Arabs. It is obvious that this is an uncomfortable situation for Azerbaijan, which we must take advantage of,” Vardan Voskanyan said.
According to the Iranologist, “We must prepare for war, but the fake calls for peace that are frequently made are not based on anything and they confuse society. In addition, our army must resolve all of our problems because, after taking into consideration our volume and the volume of our enemies, our population, and our military potential, the same problem is of dire importance to us, but it means nothing to Russia or Iran. For example, the capture of Ishkhanasar.”
According to Vardan Voskanyan, we are currently dealing with “creeping occupation.” “During the years of independence, the enemy has never attempted to take over some of Armenia’s territories through occupation. And if we discuss the borders, we must first note that there are no interstate maps of the demarcation of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also, in the 1990s, when we won, no one seemed to be talking about demarcation. Azerbaijanis only threatened war.”
Nelly Grigoryan
