Iranian Media Calls Azerbaijan's 'Zangezur Corridor' Claims a Fake

Iranian media outlets have reacted to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev's announcement regarding the creation of a 'Zangezur Corridor', highlighting that such a corridor has never existed in history and constitutes a distortion of historical facts. It was emphasized that any alteration of Armenia's internationally recognized borders contradicts Iran's interests.

According to Armenpress, Ahmad Kazemi, an expert on international law, stated in an interview with the Fars news agency that Aliyev has repeatedly threatened Armenia's territorial integrity, a matter that has been addressed by Armenia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Kazemi indicated that historically, there has never been a corridor known as the 'Zangezur Corridor', and this is merely a new historical fabrication by Baku with no legal basis. He added that Aliyev's remarks demonstrate that Baku's objectives are not the opening of communication routes, determining the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, or normalizing relations with Yerevan.

Continuing his thoughts, Kazemi mentioned that in collaboration with Turkey, Azerbaijan is attempting to create connections through the 'Zangezur Corridor' to link the pan-Turkic world and diminish Iran's geopolitical powers in the region, distancing Iran from regional energy transactions and also containing China and Russia, thereby striking a blow to the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative.

The expert further stressed that Iran opposes any changes to Armenia's internationally recognized borders and noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey are aware of this. Hence, they are trying to neutralize Iran through a multilateral program, coinciding with Iran's elections.

An article published on the Mehr news agency's website underscored that territorial claims against Armenia contradict Iran's interests, and the Islamic Republic should officially condemn such a project. It was emphasized that the creation of the 'Zangezur Corridor' contradicts the statements made on November 9, which addressed the opening of communication routes.

It was also noted that throughout history, there has never been a checkpoint or corridor known as 'Zangezur Corridor', marking it as a distortion of history. Aliyev's statement was characterized as a threat aimed at accelerating the opening of the corridor.