Armenia in Iran’s Foreign Economic Policy amid US–Iran confrontation

Iran is “entrenching” itself in Armenia through forging an alternative Eurasian transit corridor and increasing trade turnover to counter American pressure and attempts at isolation, rival projects in the Caucasus, and to bolster Armenia’s sovereignty over its southern regions.

The US-Israeli conflict with Iran during 2025–2026 further sharpened Tehran’s strategic focus on its northern borders. Thus, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s participation in the farewell ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in July 2026 and his subsequent meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, unfolded amidst Tehran underscoring the necessity of insulating bilateral ties from extra-regional interference, particularly from NATO and its allies.

Key Aspects of Current Iran-Armenia Cooperation

One element of the US anti-Iran strategy involves undermining Iran’s logistics infrastructure and marginalizing its role in regional transit networks. This reinforces the importance of Iran’s cooperation with friendly nations in cross-border logistics infrastructure, above all the Aras Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), implemented by Iran jointly with India and Russia.

In this regard, in June 2026, the head of Iran’s state planning and budget organization, Seyed Hamid Pourmohammadi, paid a visit to Armenia, during which the parties discussed modernizing border infrastructure, in particular, the Norduz terminal; resolving outstanding customs bottlenecks; and eliminating existing obstructions along regional transport routes.

Serving these objectives are the construction works initiated in June 2026 by engineers and specialists of the Iranian company Ariana on the 7.2-kilometre Kajaran Tunnel. By bypassing the treacherous mountain passes and severe winter weather of the traditional route (it is precisely the mountainous terrain and challenging climatic conditions that make Syunik province, where the town of Kajaran, which gives the tunnel its name, is........

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