In an interview with Hawzah News Agency, Hojatoleslam Hadi Shojaei stated that the Zangezur issue can be analyzed from both geopolitical and strategic perspectives.
“From a geopolitical point of view, this corridor is linked to two vital communication routes: the East–West and the North–South axes,” he explained.
Shojaei referred to Iran’s historic role in global trade routes, recalling that the Silk Road, after entering present-day Qazvin, branched into three routes: the northern path through Armenia and Azerbaijan towards Northern Europe, the central path via Turkey towards Europe, and the southern path through Iraq, the Levant and the Mediterranean to Southern Europe.
“In recent years, the Islamic Republic has focused on reviving the northern and southern routes,” he said, citing both economic and strategic considerations. These include Russia and Northern Europe’s growing need to connect with South and Southeast Asia via the North–South Corridor through Iran, the geopolitical ties among Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and the lack of trust in Turkey due to its NATO membership and Western alignment.
Disrupting Iran’s Transit Role
Shojaei emphasized that the Zangezur Corridor plan aims to undermine both of Iran’s strategic communication axes. “On the one hand, it seeks to eliminate Iran from the East–West corridor by shifting the route to Turkic-speaking countries; on the other, it tries to block Iran’s land connection to the North–South axis and deprive the country of its historical access to Northern Europe,” he said.
According to Shojaei, this plan has special significance in the current regional context. “The Zionist regime, which is under unprecedented pressure after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, is attempting to drag Iran into secondary crises—whether in Iraqi Kurdistan, Pakistan’s Baluchistan, or now Zangezur—in order to relieve its own internal deadlock,” he added.
He further noted that anti-Iranian actors are attempting to involve the United States in this scenario. “But the Americans should remember that if they failed to sustain their presence in Afghanistan and Iraq despite deploying one million troops and spending seven trillion dollars since 2001, they will certainly not be able to entrench themselves in northern Iran and its civilizational sphere,” Shojaei remarked.
Iran’s Firm Response
Highlighting Iran’s readiness, Shojaei pointed to the Supreme Leader’s repeated emphasis on preserving these historical routes, along with the extensive deployment of forces and military maneuvers along the northern borders. “These measures demonstrate Iran’s firm determination to safeguard its national interests,” he underlined.
He concluded by stressing the necessity of strategic focus: “Iran possesses full military, security and diplomatic capabilities to respond to threats at the right time. But the key is not to fall into the enemy’s diversionary traps and to remain concentrated on the main issue in the region—the inevitable collapse of the Zionist regime, for which the Resistance Axis has made great sacrifices and long-term investments.”
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