S
Samyarup Chowdhury
Guest
Iran has issued a sharp warning to Armenia over the proposed โTrump Bridge.โ BY: MEGA
Iran has issued a sharp warning to Armenia over the proposed โTrump Bridge,โ a U.S.-backed economic corridor that Washington says will promote peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Armenian leaders that the project could mask American geopolitical ambitions under the pretext of trade development, Knewz.com has learned.
Trump-brokered peace deal
President Donald Trump announced a peace deal ending decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. BY: MEGA
Recently, President Donald Trump announced a peace deal ending decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As part of the agreement, an American consortium will oversee the development of a transit route through Armeniaโs Syunik province, connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. The White House has branded the route the โTrump Bridgeโ or โTrump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.โ While Washington touts the project as a foundation for regional trade and economic integration, Iran views the corridor with suspicion. The route runs along Iranโs northern border, in an area where Russian peacekeepers have historically maintained a presence. Iran fears the โTrump Bridgeโ could reduce both Iranian and Russian influence in the region.
The strategic stakes of the corridor
For Armenia, the corridor represents a chance to stabilize relations with its neighbor after years of war. BY: Unsplash
The corridor is expected to strengthen Azerbaijanโs economic and political reach by directly linking it with Nakhchivan and Turkey. For Armenia, it represents a chance to stabilize relations with its neighbor after years of war, though critics fear the nation may lose leverage over transit rights. On the other hand, for Iran, the projectโs proximity to its East Azerbaijan province underscores broader concerns about being sidelined in the South Caucasus at a time of shifting alliances.
Iran pushes back against the project, cites suspicions
President Pezeshkian, speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the phone, said foreign military or security presence in the corridor must be avoided. BY: MEGA
President Pezeshkian, speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the phone, said foreign military or security presence in the corridor must be avoided. โOne must make sure that this route will be really the route of peace and development, not a tool for the realization of the hegemonic objectives of outsiders,โ the Iranian president was quoted as saying. His warning followed even stronger language from a senior adviser to Iranโs supreme leader, who threatened that the corridor could become โa graveyard for the mercenaries of Donald Trump.โ It is worth noting that while Iranโs Foreign Ministry issued a statement welcoming the peace accord, the Ministry stressed โconcern over the negative consequences of any form of foreign intervention, especially near its shared borders.โ
Washingtonโs response
The White House has rejected Iranโs characterization of the corridor project. BY: Tomasz Zielonka/Unsplash
The White House has rejected Iranโs characterization of the corridor project. American officials say the deal preserves Armenian sovereignty and bars military deployments in the corridor. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the agreement respects โArmeniaโs sovereignty and territorial integrity and its people.โ Said Kelly, โThe roadmap they are agreeing to will build a cooperative future that benefits both countries, their region of the South Caucasus and beyond.โ The U.S. insists the corridor will remain strictly an economic project, although its presence reduces both Iranian and Russian influence in a region where Moscow has long stationed peacekeepers.
The post Iran issues new warning over โTrump Bridgeโ appeared first on Knewz.
Continue reading...
