why iran support armenia

 

On the Behistun inscription of 515 BC, Darius the Great indirectly confirmed that Urartu and Armenia are synonymous when describing his conquests. The Armenian people are amongst the native ethnic groups of northwestern Iran (known as Iranian Azerbaijan), having millennia long recorded history there while the region (or parts of it) have had made up part of historical Armenia numerous times in history. “But there is a little possibility that Iran would reveal that discomfort in its official policy,” he concludes. The remaining Armenian minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran is still the largest Christian community in the country, ahead of the Assyrians. “Reasons like land disputes between the two countries [Iran and Azerbaijan], increasing nationalism among Azeri Turks, issues regarding how to share natural sources of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan’s close relations with Israel, [which is an archenemy of Iran across the Middle East] and a political desire to balance Turkey-Azerbaijan relations occasionally lead to some tensions and crisis between Baku and Tehran,” says Aras, the international relations professor. Meanwhile, the Islamic government of Iran continued publicly to support the Armenia. [13], Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been quoted as saying "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes and supports the development of ties with Armenia in various areas, particularly in energy as well as transportation, sports, and tourism. The only reason Iran repeats its offer of mediation is to confirm to Armenia and Azerbaijan – and their respective ethnic minorities and supporters inside Iran – that Tehran remains neutral. They are appointed two seats in Iranian Parliament (the most within the Religious minority branch) and are the only minority with official Observing Status in the Guardian and Expediency Discernment Councils. “There is a weak possibility that Iran will militarily intervene in the conflict. Azerbaijan has increased investment – and it has new support from Ankara. Perhaps the most obvious is that both peoples have faced tremendous persecution for their faith and ethnicity. The Armenian people are amongst the native ethnic groups of northwestern Iran (known as Iranian Azerbaijan), having millennia long recorded history there while the region (or parts of it) have had made up part of historical Armenia numerous times in history. The majority of Armenians live in the suburbs of Tehran, most notably Narmak, Majidiyeh, Nadershah, etc. Despite religious and ideological differences, relations between Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran remain cordial and Armenia and Iran are strategic partners in the region. “As such, we have made it clear to the Armenian government and the private sector that we expect Armenia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the international community and to halt connections with Iran that support its efforts to destabilize the region and support terrorism. This country is not only our neighbor, but we have good neighborly relations with it, which is important for the sphere. This site uses cookies. Sovereignty in Nagorno-Karabakh has long been a sensitive issue for Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Iran was never officially into the war there, but Iran and Armenia are officially political partner. Additionally, the two states have also implemented other multimillion-dollar energy projects,[which?] This appears to show that Armenia, Iran and Russia are closer allies, even though Iran … Some Azeri nationalists and intellectuals have long defined both northern and southern parts as culturally and socially identical, arguing that they should be joined under a political union. “Iran’s traditional Armenia policy has long been a balancing act against both Azerbaijan and Turkey across southern Caucasia. Additionally, reasons like land disputes between Iran & Azerbaijan, rising nationalism among Azeri Turks, concerns regarding how to share natural sources of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel, and a political desire to balance Turkey-Azerbaijan ties are some reasons why Iran backs Armenia over a Muslims Azerbaijan. During the rule of the Qajars in the 19th century, after losing some crucial battles to the Russians, the Shia-Turkish dynasty ceded some crucial parts of its territories to the Russians - the Aras, or Araxes River, became the border line between the two states, dividing current territories effectively. Since Antiquity there has always been much interaction between Ancient Armenia and Persia (Iran). But among other reasons, the changing political nature of Iran’s Azeri Turkish population (how the population with Azerbaijani heritage is referred to inside Iran) plays an important role in Tehran’s close connections to Yerevan, says Aras. Aras also underlines that Iran’s low-profile Armenian policy, which is officially a mediating position between the two countries, might significantly change should the existing political status quo be altered by the clashes in the occupied Karabakh region, which is disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The only reason Iran repeats its offer of mediation is to confirm to Armenia and Azerbaijan – and their respective ethnic minorities and supporters inside Iran – that Tehran remains neutral. Turkey and Israel provide advanced weaponry, including drones, along with strategic support to Azerbaijan. New peace mediation efforts were initiated by the Iranian President, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the first half of 1992, after the events in Khojaly and the resignation of Azeri President Ayaz Mutallibov. For his part, the leader of the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party, Rasul Tosun, said that Iran supports Christian Armenia for fear of the increase in the power of its neighbor Azerbaijan, in addition to the fact that millions of Azerbaijanis live in northern Iran, which fears their move in the interest of Azerbaijan, so Iran supports Armenia for political reasons. which include the construction of two hydro-electric plants on the Arax River that marks the Armenian-Iranian border, and a third high-voltage transmission line linking their power grids and dams. The U.S., which enjoys good relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, has also offered its support in rebuilding peace as part of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in … Follow us on Instagram. “In Iran, due to the enormous Turkish population, there has historically been a political fear that two Azerbaijans, Baku [the capital of northern Azerbaijan] and Tabriz [the capital of southern Azerbaijan] might join at some point,” says Esref Yalinkilicli, a Moscow-based Eurasia political analyst. They were replaced by the Persian-origin Pahlavi dynasty, the founding family of current Iran, in the early 20th century. In addition, the Armenian and Iranian governments have been working on a bilateral free trade agreement that could be signed by the end of 2007. The Armenian community in Iran revived in the second half of the nineteenth century, thanks to commercial ties with Armenian merchants in Russia and to the benevolence of the Qajar shahs. While Iran has a Shia majority and Azeris are overwhelmingly Shia, Azeris speak a Turkish dialect, which is very close to Turkey’s Turkish, and have established close connections with Ankara since the collapse of the communist Soviet Union. [22], The Armenian diaspora in Iran is one of the biggest and oldest Armenian communities in the world, as well as the largest in the Middle East. [11], While Iran had tried to keep the peace between two countries, Azerbaijani leadership had accused Iran for its tacit backup to Armenia, resulting in tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran, and boosting the ties between Armenia and Iran. For centuries, Iran and Azerbaijan had been ruled by Turkic-origin states, from the Seljuks to the Safavids, and eventually the Qajars. Azerbaijan, petro-rich and perched on Iran's border, is a useful friend-- at least more so than tiny, land-locked Armenia. Since Antiquity there has always been much interaction between Ancient Armenia and Persia (Iran). Armeno-Iranian relations in the Islamic period, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armenia–Iran_relations&oldid=1019620962, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from August 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 April 2021, at 12:05. Also, national awareness among Iran’s Azeris has increasingly become more evident as globalism has enabled the country’s Turkic-origin population to connect their brethren living in other neighbouring countries including Azerbaijan and Turkey, says Yalinkilicli. Therefore, for Armenia Iran is of vital importance. Once the project comes on steam, it will almost triple electricity exchange between the two neighbouring countries. There are no border disputes between the two countries and the Christian Armenian minority in Iran, amongst the largest and oldest communities in the world,[2] enjoys official recognition. [19] This showed an increase of 17.3% compared to the same period last year. [citation needed] A quarter live in Isfahan, and the other quarter is concentrated in Northwestern Iran or Iranian Azerbaijan. These historical Armenian regions that nowadays include Iranian Azerbaijan are Nor Shirakan, Vaspurakan, and Paytakaran. “On the other hand, in Azerbaijani political memory and foreign policy, the idea of Greater Azerbaijan has always been an important factor,” Yalinkilicli tells TRT World. As of 2014, Iranian tourists amounted up to 7% of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Armenia. Secondly, Iran is … Iran has officially called on both sides to cease clashes, offering mediation between the two countries. In other words, Russia is attempting to maintain good relations with both, Yerevan and Baku. For twelve more centuries, Armenia was under the direct or indirect rule of the Persians.[6]. A war between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces ended in a ceasefire in 1994, with Armenia in full control of Nagorno-Karabakh and other surrounding enclaves of Azerbaijan’s territory. These historical Armenian regions that nowadays include Iranian Azerbaijan are Nor Shirakan, The two neighbouring countries share to a great extent similar history and culture, and have had relations for thousands of years, starting with the Median Empire. Though Iran portrays a balance of ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia, behind-the-scenes, it supports Armenia to counter the growing influence of Turkey in the region. The political argument of Greater Azerbaijan has long been a threat for the Iranian establishment, which has used its support of Armenia as a counter-measure to minimise Azeri aspirations in Iran and across the region, says Yalinkilicli. Thus Iran support for Armenia is due to geopolitical alignment. “We need to pay attention to what Iran would do if the political status quo changes,” says the professor. Experts with a close eye on the conflict think Iran is secretly backing Armenia, a Christian-majority country. Due to the long shared intertwined history, and with the Armenians having a native presence in what is present-day northwestern Iran for millennia,[4] many of the oldest Armenian churches and monasteries are located within Iran, such as the Saint Stepanos Monastery and St. Thaddeus Monastery, amongst others. Iran’s support to these groups prior to 2011 can best be described as passive, psychological, and financial in nature. Yes, the potential for Russia and/or Iran to get involved in this conflict is real. However, the peace efforts were disrupted on the next day when Armenian troops captured the town of Shusha and failed following the capture of the town Lachin on 18 May. Meanwhile, the Islamic government of Iran continued publicly to support the Armenia. Armenia–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and Armenia. Armenia is seeking Iran's support in pressuring Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijan also appreciates the Islamic Republic's diplomatic overtures. Russia supports Armenia because it has a military base within its borders. [21], Several of Iran's millennia to century old Armenian monasteries and churches in the nation have been inscribed for several years now (since 2008) in the UNESCO world heritage list, under the name of the "Armenian Monastic Ensemble of Iran". Both … “Generally-speaking, Iran appears to be closer to Armenia in its relations with both countries,” says Bulent Aras, professor of international relations at Istanbul Policy Center-Sabanci University. [20] In fact, when linguists tried to classify Armenian in the late 19th century, they (erroneously) classified it as an Iranian language. History, discussion, and the presentation of Iranian influences in Armenian Language over the millennia, Series of several large articles that cover thousands of years of Iranian-Armenian relations in pre-modern times, ARMENIA AND IRAN vi. Regardless, relations between Armenians and Persians were cordial. Aras recounts several factors for Iran’s implicit support of Armenia, ranging from Iran’s political alliance with Russia, to Tehran’s trade ties with Yerevan. About 35,000 Iranian tourists visited Armenia in the first half of 2014, of a total of 495,967 tourists that had come to Armenia in the first half of 2014. [19], "Iran is an important market for us. But if there is a clear development in favour of Azerbaijan, it could be said that some political groups in Iran would have serious discomfort about that. What is now modern day Armenia was relatively recently separated from Iran by the Russian victory in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828). Behind the ongoing border conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, there are growing signs of Russia’s old realpolitik, as Moscow openly backs Yerevan against Baku. They shared many religious and cultural characteristics, and intermarriage among Parthian and Armenian nobility was common. “Increasing Turkish nationalism [among the Azeri Turks] in Iran has been seen as a serious political problem by Iran. After Azerbaijan gained independence, Armenia with help of Russian and Iran occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and Karabakh. Some Azeris believe that Iran’s Turkic-origin population, which includes Turkmen, Qashgais and other Turkish-speaking groups, might amount to nearly 40 percent. The United States is committed to helping Armenia strengthen … But what role does Iran, a Shia-Muslim majority country like Azerbaijan, which neighbours both countries, have? The cultural links between the Armenians and the Persians can be traced back to Zoroastrian times. Firstly, Iran has supplied weapons to Armenia in order to help the Karabachis, (Armenian population from Nagorno – Karabakh) in their fight against the Azeri population living in the enclave. [7] Following the incorporation by Russia, Armenia stayed within the Russian sphere until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. [9][10] The Tehran Communiqué was signed by Mammadov, Ter-Petrosian, and Rafsanjani following the agreement of the parties to international legal norms, stability of borders and to deal with the refugee crisis. [18], Armenia and Iran share extensive touristic ties. While the northern part of Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Republic after the communist Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the southern part stayed under the Qajars. The picture emanating from the theatre of Nagorno-Karabagh war zone is that Turkey has emerged as a clear victor as Ankara went ahead with its full support towards Azerbaijan while Armenia who was beleived to be supported Russia and European Union could not find … It will be completed in 2018. Armenia and Iran enjoy cultural and historical ties that go back thousands of years. The territory of present-day Armenia made part of Iran up to 1828, when it was forcefully ceded to neighbouring Imperial Russia through the consequences of the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay. Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh are already a geopolitical flashpoint between Russia, which supports Yerevan, and Turkey, which supports Baku. There are reports that Azerbaijan protested against Iranian aid to Armenia along the border. Iran and Armenia have been in close contact for thousands of years. Of special importance is the cooperation in the field of energy security which lowers Armenia's dependence on Russia and can in the future also supply Iranian gas to Europe through Georgia and the Black Sea. Armenia is under control of Russia and it is clear they can get support from Iran because after Rose Revolution in Georgia, Russia lose the connection to Armenia. The Iranian nationalists in general favor Armenia over Azerbaijan for there is a large ethnic group of Azeris in Iran. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, A. Bruke, V. Maxwell, I. Shearer, Iran, Lonely Planet, 2012, Armenian Center for National and International Studies, pipeline that brings Iranian natural gas into Armenia, http://www.esisc.org/upload/publications/analyses/the-armenian-iran-relationship/Armenian-Iran%20relationship.pdf, "Armenian President interested in expansion of cooperation with Iran", "Caucasus: Iran Offers To Mediate In Nagorno-Karabakh Dispute", https://lobelog.com/will-azerbaijan-join-the-anti-iran-coalition/, https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-iran-sanctions-armenia-idUSBRE87K05420120821, "Armenia Deepens Ties With Embattled Iran", "More Iranian Tourists Travel to Armenia", ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. More information about Armenia is available on the Armenia Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet. The 14-days war which saw hundreds killed has come to an end, well almost, after 10 hours of talks, and a ceasefire agreement. But among other reasons, the changing political nature of Iran’s Azeri Turkish population (how the population with Azerbaijani heritage is referred to inside Iran) plays an important role in Tehran’s close connections to Yerevan, says Aras.