On 4 October, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian welcomed his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan to Tehran for an official visit.

Following their meeting, Abdollahian said the two nations had “agreed to develop cooperation in all areas of economy, trade and tourism,” adding that “trade and operating the Armenian transit route are among the issues of mutual concern for both countries.”

The visit comes just one day after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about his country’s close ties with Iran, saying: “I am confident that our Iranian partners know that the Republic of Armenia has never been and will never be involved in any conspiracy against Iran, because we highly value those relations.”

These developments follow an increase in tensions between the Islamic Republic and neighboring Azerbaijan.

Last month, Azerbaijani troops detained Iranian truck drivers who had delivered goods to Armenia, claiming they had entered the country illegally. Tehran strongly condemned the actions of Baku and demanded the release of the drivers.

Since then, Iran has launched large-scale military drills near the Azerbaijani border, as officials say they are working to secure Iran’s territorial integrity.

“We will not allow some foreign states to affect Iran’s relations with its neighbors, including Armenia. Our region will by no means tolerate new excessive demands. The problems of the region must be resolved by the people of the region without any foreign intervention,” the Iranian FM also said on Monday.

On this topic, the Armenian Foreign Minister added: “I briefed FM Amir-Abdollahian about the developments regarding Karabakh. Mercenaries from other countries also took part in the Karabakh war. Despite the fact that the Republic of Azerbaijan was obliged to release the citizens and prisoners in captivity, it did not do so, and this must be done as soon as possible.”

For decades, Iran has supplied Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh with fuel, but following last year’s 40-day war between Baku and Yerevan, the former retook territory that includes small slices of the road connecting Iran to Karabakh through southern Armenia. This led to the recent spat between Iran and Azerbaijan.

“We should have talks and discussions with the participation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, and we emphasized the reopening of communication routes in the region. Armenia announces its readiness to reopen communication routes,” the Armenian FM added.