Iran’s Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, announced that Iran has submitted an official note expressing its objections to certain parts of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit’s final communiqué. He stated that some of the terms used contradict Iran’s position and undermine Armenia’s territorial integrity.

The ambassador clarified that the declaration represents only the chair of the summit—in this case, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev—and does not necessarily reflect the views of all participating countries, according to Armenpress.

“As we previously expressed regarding the statement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation released in Istanbul, certain provisions of this ECO declaration, including artificial terms that imply territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia, contradict Iran’s principled stance as a friendly and neighboring country and are not subject to endorsement.

Iran continues to support the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and emphasizes the importance of a peace treaty mutually agreed upon by both parties. We have officially communicated our reservations to the Economic Cooperation Organization regarding this statement,” Sobhani said.

The 17th ECO summit was held July 3–4 in the depopulated city of Stepanakert and was attended by representatives from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Following the event, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement using language aligned with Azerbaijani propaganda, asserting a supposed right of return for Azerbaijanis to Armenia’s territory.