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18 September 2026 - 16:04 AMT

Envoy calls for Armenia-Iran rail link via Nakhichevan

Azerbaijan should provide the possibility of a railway connection between Armenia and Iran through the territory of Nakhichevan, Iranian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Khalil Shirgholami said on Sept. 17 at a conference on TRIPP.

The ambassador said Iran had supported Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace project, stressing that the initiative should provide connectivity not only in the West-East direction but also along the North-South axis, Auroranews.am reported.

“Just as Armenia responsibly supports this project and, within the framework of TRIPP, is trying to help Azerbaijan establish an overland connection with Nakhichevan and is making efforts to establish peace, Azerbaijan should likewise responsibly ensure the possibility of a railway connection between Armenia and Iran through Nakhichevan,” Shirgholami said.

In his assessment, establishing a railway connection between Yeraskh and Julfa would create new opportunities for Armenia.

The Iranian ambassador also noted that with such a railway connection, Armenia could become an important transit hub linking the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea.

Shirgholami has said that the issue of the so-called “Zangezur corridor” is currently not under discussion and that the existing problem has been successfully overcome. The ambassador made the remarks during the “TRIPP: At the Crossroads of Dangerous Issues” workshop. He noted that the TRIPP project did not fully reflect the objectives and demands put forward by Ankara and Baku in seeking an extraterritorial corridor.