Armenian, Iranian Deputy FMs reaffirm willingness for strategic  partnership 

ArmInfo.Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi confirmed the intention, expressed at the level of the two countries' leaders, to elevate relations to a strategic partnership.

According to the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the  deputy foreign ministers of Armenia and Iran announced this readiness  during regular political consultations held in Yerevan on January 8.   During the meeting, the interlocutors also discussed the bilateral  relations agenda and issues related to regional and international  developments. Kostanyan and Takht Ravanchi noted with satisfaction  the active dynamics of cooperation between the two countries,  including through reciprocal visits at various levels.  Furthermore,  the deputy foreign ministers of Armenia and Iran discussed prospects  for developing cooperation in energy, infrastructure, healthcare,  agriculture, tourism, and other areas, and touched upon the  implementation of specific programs. Kostanyan emphasized projects  aimed at developing regional connectivity, in particular the new  opportunities expected through the implementation of the Trump Route  for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).

As a reminder, on August 8, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a seven-point joint  "Declaration of Peace" in Washington. It includes a joint appeal to  the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to  terminate the OSCE Minsk Process and related structures, as well as  the creation of a transport corridor through Armenian territory that  will connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave, surrounded by  Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. Experts believe the TRIPP project (Trump  Route for International Peace and Prosperity, a 42-kilometer road in  southern Armenia that will hand over control to the United States for  99 years) could significantly alter the geopolitical situation in the  South Caucasus, a move that the Islamic Republic's political  leadership objects to.