The Main Transit Route for Iran is the North-South Highway: Iranian Expert

The Iranian ambassador to Armenia has firmly reiterated that even with the unblocking of communication routes, the proposed railway options cannot overshadow the importance of the road passing through Armenia's Syunik province, which ensures direct land communication between Yerevan and Tehran. Therefore, the construction of the 'North-South' highway should remain a priority. This was stated by Iranian studies expert Vardan Voskanyan on his Facebook page.

In a detailed interview given to Armenpress on January 27, Iran's Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Abbas Badakhshan Zohuri explicitly acknowledged that in Tehran's Iranian program for the international transport hub connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea, the main transit route is not the railway from Julfa (Iran) to Jugha (Nakhchivan) to Yeraskh (Armenia), but rather the 'North-South' highway that runs through Syunik province.

It is noteworthy that while discussing this topic, the Iranian diplomat made it clear twice that even with the unblocking of communication routes, the proposed railway options cannot justify neglecting the road that provides direct land communication between Yerevan and Tehran. Therefore, the construction of the 'North-South' highway should remain a priority.

Taking into account the positions of the Iranian side, it must also be clearly recorded in Armenia that ensuring our state's internal and external secure communications and development is a primary and vital necessity. It is not the establishment of a 'continental' Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan-Turkey railway connection through the Meghri region, but rather the 'North-South' highway that should facilitate the Iranian 'Persian Gulf-Black Sea' and Indian 'North-South' transport hubs.