TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi had a telephone conversation on Tuesday with the Armenia Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, amid reports of deadly clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan borders.
“The prime minister provided details about the provocative and aggressive actions carried out by the armed forces of Azerbaijan in the direction of the sovereign territory of Armenia,” the Public Radio of Armenia said of the call.
The Armenian prime minister’s office also issued a statement about the call. “Ebrahim Raisi noted that a new war in the South Caucasus region is unacceptable and Iran is carefully following the developments. The President of Iran emphasized that all conflicts in the region should be resolved peacefully and Iran's position regarding the territorial integrity of states is clear,” the statement said.
It added, “The President of Iran recalled the words of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, according to which Iran's connection with Armenia should not be endangered, and the communication channels should be under the sovereignty of the states. Ebrahim Raisi stressed that his country is ready to support the establishment of peace in the region, adding that the issue of Armenia's security is important for Iran.”
Heavy border clashes broke out on Monday night between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, with each side accusing the other of starting the fighting.
Following the escalation of tensions, Pashinyan chaired a session of the Security Council with the participation of President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan and the President of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan in addition to the Security Council members.
“Further steps aimed at counteracting the aggressive actions by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia that started at midnight were discussed at the meeting,” the Armenian prime minister said in a separate statement.
The statement added, “A decision was made to officially apply to the Russian Federation for the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, to the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the UN Security Council regarding the aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.”
On the other hand, the Republic of Azerbaijan accused Armenia of starting a “large-scale” attack against Azerbaijan.
“On , starting at late night, the units of the armed forces of Armenia held large-scale provocations in the directions of Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin of Azerbaijan-Armenia state border,” the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said in a statement.
The statement added, “According to the information provided by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the sabotage groups of the armed forces of Armenia using the mountainous relief of the area and existing valley gaps carried out planting landmines on the areas between the positions of the units of Azerbaijan’s army and the supply roads in different directions. In addition, the Armenian armed forces fired intensively at the positions of the Azerbaijani Army in Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin regions with different types of weapons, including mortars. As a result, there are casualties among the personnel of our armed forces, damage was inflicted to the military infrastructure.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has expressed concern about escalation of border tensions and clashes between the Republic Azerbaijan and Armenia, calling for restraint and resolution of disagreements between the two countries through peaceful means and based on international law.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman once again reiterated that the Islamic Republic considers any change to the borders between the Azerbaijan Republic and the Republic of Armenia as unacceptable.
Kanaani underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran is closely watching the relevant developments, stressing the need for respect for the territorial integrity of both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
He expressed Iran’s readiness to provide any assistance needed to resolve the disagreements between its two neighbors.
During the 2020 Karabakh war, Iran presented a peace initiative to Yerevan and Baku. And Iranian diplomats traveled to both capitals in a bid to peacefully solve the conflict. Iran’s initiative centered around the need to protect the territorial integrity of the countries of the region. Iran has said that it does not accept any changes in international borders in the South Caucasus region.