Message of Iran's recent movements in S Caucasus

The holding of the exercise of “Eghtedar 1401” of the IRGC ground force in the Aras region, which was carried out for three days, brought wide reactions in the political-media circles of the region; The exercise was interpreted as the Islamic Republic’s “decisive response” to any changes in the region’s geopolitics.

Although the recent exercise was conducted based on the annual program of the Revolutionary Guards’ Ground Forces, experts believe that it’s holding at the current stage cannot be considered unrelated to the developments that are taking place in the Caucasus region and are associated with a new round of tensions between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

In recent days, the Islamic Republic has played a special role in this area and tried to play a balancing role in establishing regional peace and stability.

Based on this, on the one hand, the holding of the exercise of “Eghtedar 1401” in the Aras region and on the other hand, the recent visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran to Yerevan indicates that Tehran is following the developments in the Caucasus region with great sensitivity, and in addition to diplomatic activities, it has also tried to take measures in the field and security area.

The visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran to Armenia had a wide impact and the readiness of the two countries for the development of bilateral relations, which was accompanied by the opening of the consulate general of our country in the city of “Qapan” of Armenia, shows Iran’s determination to play an effective role in the developments of the Caucasus region.

In relation to the objectives of the exercise of “Eghtedar 1401” and Iran’s diplomatic movements, the following points are noteworthy.

1- Holding exercise of power in the Aras region had two clear messages for friends and enemies of Iran; A message for Iran’s friends and especially our neighbors is that the Islamic Republic seeks to secure the borders and territorial integrity of the countries in the region, and in this context, it has always played a stabilizing role and is still committed to implementing such a role.

2. The holding of the exercise of “Eghtedar 1401” proves that the Islamic Republic seeks to defend the establishment of maximum peace and stability in the region and tries to prevent the occurrence of destabilizing tensions in the region; A strategy whose one side will definitely be the expansion of economic cooperation between the countries of the Caucasus region, and all the nations of the region will benefit from it.

Therefore, Iran’s recent moves, in the diplomatic and military fields, will benefit all countries in the region and will lay the groundwork for establishing peace and stability.

Iran believes that security and stability should be achieved by regional actors, and the way should not be open for extra-regional forces to play a role.

With the stabilization steps it has taken, the Islamic Republic has shown that it has the necessary preparation to ensure security and peace in the region and can play an irreplaceable role in this field.

3- The third clear and decisive message of this exercise was addressed to ill-wishers and enemies of Iran and the region; A message that is mostly addressed to the Zionist Regime, which tries to work in favor of its destabilizing policies by exploiting the existing border disputes in the region.

Iran monitors the movements and actions of enemies in its borders with special precision and sensitivity. Iran is aware of the warmongering of extra-regional enemies, especially Israel, and if it feels necessary, it will take necessary measures in this field.

The important message of the exercise in the Aras region to the enemies was that Iran will not tolerate their presence near its borders. An issue that has been announced to regional friends and neighbors through diplomatic channels.

Zionists have relations with both sides of the conflict in the Caucasus. On the one hand, they sell weapons to the Republic of Azerbaijan, and on the other hand, they have intelligence and security cooperation with Armenia. Therefore, the Zionist Regime has on its agenda to encourage and provoke both sides to raise the level of tensions and conflicts.

4- Iranian authorities have repeatedly emphasized that Iran is against changing the geographical boundaries of the region; Because this issue provides the necessary background for future wars and conflicts, and it will bring many calamities to the nations of the region, and it will especially open the feet of foreign forces to the region.

In this recent conflict that took place between the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia, although it did not last more than a few days and the two sides announced a ceasefire, we saw American officials visit Armenia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced that to resolve the border disputes, it will send groups of the supervisors.

If extra-regional forces are present in the Caucasus, this region will become a place for the competition of great powers and the negative result of this attendance will affect the nations of this region, and in the meantime, their interests will be victims of extra-regional competition and they will witness the destruction of peace and stability.

Iran believes that the parties to the conflict should resolve their border disputes through dialogue and negotiation and not pave the way for the presence of extra-regional actors.

5- On the other hand, Iran, by playing the role of active impartiality, tried to encourage the conflicting parties to resolve their disputes through dialogue; The strategy that was followed in the recent visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran to Armenia.

Iran has friendly relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan and political plus economic delegations are traveling between the countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran wants cordial relations with all its neighbors and its’ clear message is that no country should seek to change the borders of the region through militarism.

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