Iran Threatens Planned Trump Corridor Envisaged by Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Deal
Iran threatened on Saturday to block a corridor planned in the Caucasus under a regional deal sponsored by US President Donald Trump, Iranian media reported, raising a new question mark over a peace plan hailed as a strategically important shift.
A top Azerbaijani diplomat said earlier that the plan, announced by Trump on Friday, was just one step from a final peace deal between his country and Armenia, which reiterated its support for the plan.
The proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would run across southern Armenia, giving Azerbaijan a direct route to its exclave of Nakhchivan and in turn to Türkiye.
The US would have exclusive development rights to the corridor, which the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
It was not immediately clear how Iran, which borders the area, would block it but the statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, raised questions over its security.
He said military exercises carried out in northwest Iran demonstrated the country’s readiness and determination to prevent any geopolitical changes.
“This corridor will not become a passage owned by Trump, but rather a graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries,” Velayati said.
