Marianna Mkrtchyan. US pressure on Armenia over cooperation with Iran will continue, Kiro Manoyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Director, expressed this opinion at a press conference in Yerevan On November 7.

Speaking about the deterioration of relations between the United States and Iran, he stated that the visit of Trump's national security adviser John Bolton was aimed at putting pressure on regional countries on their interaction with Tehran. "The pressure on Armenia will continue in order to bring the Armenian-Iranian relations to a minimum. And this cannot but cause our concern," member of Dashnaktsutyun said.

At the same time, he is convinced that in today's realities, it is impossible to simultaneously pursue a policy satisfactory for the United States, and to maintain good relations with Iran. At the same time, Manoyan believes that it is necessary to bring to the United States the position that the Armenian-Iranian relations are not directed against Washington.

Manoyan reminded that today Armenia has two borders – with Iran and Georgia, and it is necessary to continue developing this cooperation. "Armenia has always led a cautious foreign policy and tried to do everything not to harm its partners in any way. In this situation, we can adopt a balanced position of the European Union," Manoyan said, adding that, despite the complexity of the situation, Armenia should continue develop economic cooperation with Iran.

At the same time, he, assured that he did not understand the phrase by Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the possible closure of borders with Iran and Georgia. At the same time, Manoyan believes that today there is a need to bring to the Iranian side what is happening inside Armenia, to introduce clarity, that the internal political processes in the country will in no way affect its foreign policy vector. "I don't think that there is no clarity from the Armenian side in relations with Iran. And the only thing we can do today is to further develop our relations with Iran, and this is primarily based on our interests, not those of Tehran", he summarized.

On November 5, new US sanctions against Iran entered into force. Sanctions will cover oil exports. Washington earlier announced the goal to bring Iranian oil exports to zero and urged its buyers to abandon purchases. On Monday, the Finance Ministry announced that the United States added to the sanctions list more than 700 individuals, organizations, aircraft and ships of Iran.

To recall, US President Donald Trump announced in May that Washington was withdrawing from an agreement on nuclear program with Iran. He also reported on the restoration of all sanctions against Iran, including secondary ones, that is, against other countries doing business with Iran. The United States re-introduced part of the sanctions against Iran on August 7. More substantial sanctions, which will cover oil exports, entered into force on 5 November. Iran and the "six" international mediators (Russia, USA, Britain, China, France, Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached a historic agreement on resolving the perennial problem of the Iranian atom: the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was adopted, the implementation of which removed Iran's previously economic and financial sanctions by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union. In this connection, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia made a statement and stressed that Yerevan closely follows the processes and is in constant contact with all the parties involved in the process. "We clearly voice our concerns. Traditional and friendly relations with Iran are vital for Armenia. A comprehensive expert analysis of the impact of sanctions against Iran on Armenia is underway," the RA Foreign Ministry said.