Iran hails Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), treating its developing cooperation with the country as an opportunity to establish connections with the economic bloc, according to Aram Israelyan, an expert in Iranian studies.

“Iran and Armenia have already brought to life one very important project – that of the gas pipeline operating between the two countries. Yet, we need to keep also the Armenia-Iran railway construction plan on the agenda,” he told a news conference on Monday.

Israelyan noted that in the course of his recent visit to Armenia, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani considered the possible cooperation format with the EEU member states.

“Iran is trying to establish economic ties in all directions – whether with Russia, the EU, Turkey or Armenia – in an effort to resolve the existing problems in its economy,” he said, highlighting the country’s decreased turnover with Turkey over the past couple of years.

The Iranian Ministry of Roads and Transportation recently called upon Armenia freight carriers to select their country as a possible route for the delivery of their goods to Europe (instead of Turkey). “Hence, this too, is a very important factor, and I believe the Norduz-Meghri checkpoint plan is also aimed at that project’s implementation,” Israelyan added.