As Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki stated in Yerevan, “Armenia and Azerbaijan are countries friendly to Iran, and Iran, as a friendly and neighborly country, wants to achieve peace and stability in the region.” “We all remember the events of 2008 in Georgia. Such events should be put an end to, as they affect the safety, as well as the energy and transport infrastructure of the region,” declared the Iranian FM. According to Mottaki, Iran stands for a peaceful and diplomatic settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the key issues of our talks with the Armenian leadership. Iran is ready to provide any assistance to Yerevan and Baku in this issue,” Mottaki said.

Unfortunately, placing itself in the position of a pariah, or rather finding itself in this position because of its nuclear program, Tehran is currently unable to influence any processes that involve the U.S. and EU. And if Iran can come to an agreement with Europe and even with Russia, no understanding can be reached with Washington. The easiest thing to do is to blame Israel for lack of dialogue, exactly what the Iranians are trying to do both on national and professional levels. The thing is not only the all-powerful Jewish lobby, which, according to Official Tehran, prevents the implementation of Iran's nuclear program with all its might. In principle, the Jewish attitude is understandable: the constant threats of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed to Israel hardly can delude anyone. In the end, all the parties may run out of patience, and as a result we'll get a full-scale regional war, in which, as usual, there will be no winners. In the present state of affairs, the only thing that can keep Iran from launching a war is its aspiration to become a regional power without bloodshed. If, after all, Turkey starts the realization of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols on normalization of relations, this may someway strike at the strategic plans of Iran. Or, perhaps, it won't. In the current state of affairs all depends on the other countries in the region, on Armenia and Azerbaijan in particular.

As far as the Armenian-Iranian relations are concerned, they develop quite successfully. Both countries attach great importance to the implementation of energy projects, specifically the construction of a hydropower plant on the Araks River, construction of Iran-Armenia railway and a pipeline. “A direct railway Armenia-Iran, a hydropower plant in Meghri, as well as a pipeline and a terminal for liquid fuels Iran-Armenia are strategically important projects to be carried out between Armenia and Iran,” believes Energy Minister of Armenia Armen Movsisyan. According to him, as far as the construction of a hydropower plant in Meghri is concerned, much of feasibility study (FS) is already done. “A preliminary document on the financial and construction plans is ready. Within 2 months final decisions will be submitted for official confirmation,” declared Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan. Regarding the construction of Iran-Armenia pipeline and the terminal, the Minister noted that technical design is already completed, while feasibility study is in its final stage. “After discussions we decided to prolong the given period of time by two months in order to finally discuss the current issues and present the final decision,” the Minister informed.

Regarding the construction of Armenia-Iran railway, the parties decided that after completion of feasibility issues and settlement of financial problems, they would simultaneously begin the railroad construction; the Armenian side will be carrying out work on the territory of Armenia, the Iranian side - on the territory of Iran. “Having extensive experience in railway construction, the Iranian side expressed readiness to render assistance to the Armenian side in construction issues. In addition, at the previous meeting Iran had expressed willingness to also provide financial support to Armenia for the construction,” said Armen Movsisyan.

In his turn, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki declared that implementation of these three strategically important projects would substantially change the relations between Armenia and Iran. “We are pleased to notice that through these projects Armenia will get a key role in terms of transport and energy communications,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said.