Threat to Armenian-Iranian relations must be neutralized - clergyman 

ArmInfo.Today we express our condolences to friendly Iran and the Iranian people, expressing our  solidarity and support. The head of the "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Bagrat (Srbazan) Galstanyan stated this on May 23  in a conversation with journalists near the Iranian Embassy, in response to a request to assess possible threats and risks to regional security, in connection with the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Today he visited the Iranian Embassy in Armenia and left an entry in  the Book of Condolences, opened in connection with the death of  Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and other high-ranking officials in a  plane crash on May 19.

"I cannot say what processes will follow this. Our hearts and prayers  are with the people of Iran, their spiritual leader, with a sense of  kinship," Galstanyan said.

At the same time, Bagrat Srbazan emphasized that Iran is a friendly  country for Armenia.   At the same time, he added that there is  nothing new in the fact that at all times there have been opponents  of these relations.

"IRI has always treated the Armenian people favorably and with care.  On a personal level, my sense of kinship also comes from the fact  that my family immigrated to Armenia from Iran. They experienced the  care of IRI, and this feeling of kinship has never been absent. And  all those threats that could harm or affect Armenian-Iranian  relations must be neutralized," Galstanyan expressed his conviction.

At the same time, he found it difficult to say what challenges and  threats there are in bilateral relations. "I can only say that it is  necessary to deepen and develop these relations. There is a need and  a necessity for this. There is no place for limiting these relations.  I believe that we must appreciate the strong position taken by the  top leadership of Iran since 2020, and which has not has undergone  changes to this day and concerns the territorial integrity of the  Republic of Armenia and the security issues arising from this," noted  the Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the AAC.