On December 27, the tête-à-tête meeting between Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, which was followed by an enlarged meeting with participation of delegations of the two countries, the press offices of the Armenian and Iranian reported.

Following the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Iran held a joint press conference.

Mirzoyan stated, "Signing a contract on the extension of the 'Gas-for-electricity' program should be considered an important achievement this year. We hope that as a result of joint steps, we will see tangible progress shortly, and the construction of the 3rd Iran-Armenia power transmission line will be completed. [...] Touching upon the important topics of infrastructural projects, I want to emphasize, and we stressed in our discussions today, the need for the complete operation of the 'North-South Road Corridor' and the international transport routes connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. In this regard, as well as in terms of the participation of Iranian companies in the economic life of Armenia, we attached importance to the involvement of Iranian companies in the Syunik region in the construction of the 32-kilometer section of the Agarak-Kajaran road, which was announced in October this year during the visit of the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia."

"We also see positive impulses, such as the agreement reached as a result of recent contacts when prisoners of war and detained persons were released, and Armenia supported Azerbaijan's candidacy in the COP-29 elections. On the other hand, we see negative impulses, I mean the regularly expressed comments and calls from Azerbaijan, and in the negotiation process, for example, avoiding high-level meetings. We know various proposals exist, but such meetings have not been held recently. I repeat: I hope that, nevertheless, constructivism will prevail, and we will have this opportunity to have a real peace treaty, a lasting peace treaty shortly," he said, talking about the peace negotiations with Azerbaijan.

Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the improvement of bilateral relations over the past two years, underlining the need to speed up the implementation of economic agreements, including transportation, trade, and energy deals, as well as cooperation in scientific and cultural areas and new technologies. He also spoke about the strategic importance of the Caucasus in the policy of neighborliness in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and reaffirmed Tehran's continued support for strengthening convergence and cooperation between regional countries.

While stressing the necessity of establishing lasting peace in the region, Amir-Abdollahian said inclusive peace can only be achieved through regional dialogue and platforms such as the 3+3 mechanism.

Meeting with Nikol Pashinyan

On the same day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the press offices of the Armenian Prime Minister and Iranian Foreign Ministry reported.

"I am happy for the high-level contacts and mutual visits that we see between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is important not only for the further development of our bilateral relations but also in the sense of being more understandable to each other in our foreign relations and policies in general. Of course, we constantly discuss the issues of the bilateral agenda, and I am glad that a sincere atmosphere has been established in these discussions. I also know that you had a productive discussion with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and you have active, intensive working contacts, for which I am also happy. I would also like to hear from you about the agenda and expected results of the visit," the Prime Minister said.

During the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister highlighted the expansion of ties with the neighboring countries, including Armenia, as a priority in Iran's foreign policy. Describing the trend of growing bilateral ties as positive, he stressed that implementing the deals struck by the two countries, especially in economic fields and interactions between people, should be expedited. The top Iranian diplomat welcomed the deals made between the republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia aimed at ironing out differences and said establishing peace accords serves the interests of the regional countries as well.

Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian said activating historical transit routes based on mutual interests as well as the sovereignty, jurisdiction, and national laws in the Caucasus is in line with the collective interests of the regional countries. The Iranian foreign minister also underlined the potential of the countries in the region to tackle differences and help establish peace and stability in the area. He warned that the involvement of extra-regional players would make the situation in the region more complicated, calling on the regional countries to employ the potential, including the 3+3 Consultative Regional Platform, for peace-making and ensuring the peace agreement in the Caucasus region.

The interlocutors discussed several issues related to the Armenian-Iranian cooperation agenda. In particular, reference was made to the deepening of bilateral trade and economic ties, the projects being implemented and planned for the near future in infrastructure, as well as in other fields. The parties also exchanged ideas on regional issues, including the processes unfolding around the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty, the unblocking of regional transport communications based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality, and reciprocity, the "Crossroads of Peace" project of the Armenian government. Iran's Foreign Minister noted that his country supports the process of unblocking based on the above-mentioned principles, particularly the "Crossroads of Peace" project.

Meeting with Armen Grigoryan

On December 28, Amir-Abdollahian met and talked with the Secretary of Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan.

Expressing his satisfaction with the growing ties between the two countries, the foreign minister stated that following a deal between the Iranian president and the Armenian prime minister, bilateral relations should be put on a path of expansion. He noted that moving towards boosting the volume of trade between the two countries to 3 billion dollars can be a sign of stepped-up ties. The top Iranian diplomat emphasized Iran's policy to protect the international borders and territorial integrity of other countries as a constant principle and stated that the countries in the region should tackle regional issues.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Security Council of Armenia hailed the dynamic and active ties between the two countries, which he said are at the highest level. Grigoryan expressed gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting Armenia's territorial integrity, saying, "Armenia is determined to deepen and improve its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

He also invited his Iranian counterpart to travel to Yerevan.

Iran agrees to the Armenian Consulate in Tabriz

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, "An agreement has been reached on the establishment of the consulate general of Armenia in Tabriz."

"We hope that during the first weeks of the New Year, my colleague and I will soon witness the official opening ceremony of the consulate general. We positively evaluate the development of bilateral relations, we underscore the development of cooperation between the public and private sectors of the two countries," the Iranian minister emphasized.

Importantly, Azerbaijanis are Iran's most significant ethnic minority, numbering at least 12 million. According to some estimates, up to 20-30 million live in Iran - almost one-quarter of the population.

As previously reported by Caucasus Watch, after the Second Karabakh War, diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Iran became quite strained and remain difficult even today. After Iran conducted large-scale military drills on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, opened an Iranian consulate in Kapan, Armenia, and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced an Armenian consulate in Azerbaijani-habited Tabriz, Azerbaijan's rhetoric against Iran became more aggressive, both in the media and at the official level.