Islamic Republic of Iran §

Southern neighbour and border guarantor

Iran matters to the atlas less as an active belligerent than as the southern constant. The modern Iranian state inherited the Persian side of the border created by the Treaty of Gulistan and Treaty of Turkmenchay. Cities such as Tabriz, Khoy and Salmas remained connected to Armenian and Azerbaijani life across the Russian border through trade, clerical networks, migration and refuge.

Since 1991 Iran has valued its short border with Armenia because it prevents a continuous Turkish-Azerbaijani land belt along Iran's north-western frontier. That is why Tehran has reacted sharply to maximal versions of the Zangezur corridor demand. Iran does not oppose transit in principle; it opposes any extraterritorial arrangement that would weaken Armenian sovereignty over Syunik and alter the Armenia-Iran border. editorial

Iran's position is therefore pragmatic rather than sentimental. It maintains relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, but its red line is border change. In the atlas, Iran is the outside actor that turns Zangezur from a bilateral Armenia-Azerbaijan problem into a regional balance problem.