On Monday, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzaneh Sadegh, held talks with Davit Khudatyan, Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, focusing on expanding regional transit and logistics cooperation.
Sadegh underscored the strategic role of the North–South and Persian Gulf–Black Sea corridors, urging upgrades to Armenia’s road, rail, and freight systems to enable smoother trade flows. She pointed to a $330 imbalance in transit tariffs and called for the mechanism to be revised, emphasizing that new routes should not be affected by geopolitical tensions.
Highlighting the reopening of the Jolfa–Yerevan–Georgia railway, Sadegh said the development would mark a turning point for regional connectivity, adding that President Pezeshkian’s recent trip to Armenia had already given fresh momentum to bilateral cooperation in the transport sector.
Khudatyan, for his part, expressed appreciation for Iran’s assistance during the 2024 earthquake and praised Iranian firms for their contributions to Armenian infrastructure. He confirmed the tariff dispute involving Iranian trucks and said a joint task force will be created to address the matter. The Armenian minister also announced plans to put out a tender for a new segment of the North–South corridor.
The talks come at a time of heightened debate over the proposed Zangezur corridor — a route intended to connect the Republic of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan. Under the post-war agreement following the Second Karabakh conflict, Armenia was expected to ensure Azerbaijan’s access, though the two sides differ over the corridor’s status: Yerevan insists it must remain under Armenian jurisdiction, while Baku seeks a passage with minimal checks.
Iran, meanwhile, has continued to present itself as a stable and cost-effective alternative. Despite regional tensions and during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, Tehran has kept transit routes such as Bileh-Savar and Jolfa open to Azerbaijani traffic.
Recently, senior Iranian official Amin Tarraf reiterated that, regardless of the unresolved Zangezur issue, Iran has guaranteed uninterrupted access for Azerbaijani vehicles. He also referred to Armenia’s “Crossroads of Peace” proposal linking north–south and east–west corridors, but cautioned that any move to alter established borders would inflame regional sensitivities.
Iran maintains that whether or not the Zangezur project materializes, its territory will remain the most reliable route for Azerbaijan’s access to Nakhchivan.
