Eurasia Press & News
The Islamic Republic took the opportunity of the regional summit to promote its anti-Western agenda by urging South Caucasus nations to reject “interference from extra-regional” powers.
Tehran hosted a dialogue conference on Monday, known as the “3+3 format,” bringing together the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in an attempt to resolve tensions between the two neighbors. The initiative also involved Turkey and Russia, while Georgia refused to attend.
In separate meetings with Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi underlined the Islamic Republic’s rejection of interference by Western powers in the Caucasus.
According to his official website, Raisi told the pair that such interference “will be harmful to regional peace and stability.” He expressed Tehran’s preparedness to mediate between the two sides after the brief September conflict that ended in Azerbaijan’s takeover of the Armenian-controlled areas of Karabakh region.
The Islamic Republic has long maintained close ties with Yerevan, but relations with Baku have been bumpy. Tehran views Azerbaijan’s friendly ties with Israel as a menace, and a gate to Israeli influence in the region. And during the meeting with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov, Raisi advised Baku to avoid Israel. “I had already told [Azerbaijan’s President] Mr. Elham Aliyev that Israel can never be friends with any Islamic country,” Raisi said.
The official communique of the summit urged “recognition of sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and irrevocability of internationally recognized borders” in the South Caucasus.
“One of the messages of the conference is that the Islamic Republic is playing an active role in regional issues,” said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at a televised presser concluding the summit.
Iranian media across the political spectrum highlighted the role of the Islamic Republic as a mediator. One hardline paper even argued that Iran’s hosting of the event could help keep Israel and NATO out of the Caucasus.
The event took place at a critical time for Iran’s global posture amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza-based Hamas militants. And Iranian officials appeared to be making the most of it by projecting the image of a deal broker, and to push back on pressure over their support for regional proxies, who have been designated as terror groups by most of Tehran’s Western adversaries.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani described his country as the “pillar of stability and security in the region” in a post on his official X account.
“At a moment when America and its allies are intensifying the war and destabilizing the region with their unequivocal backing behind the evil Zionist regime, Tehran was hosting the second round of the regional mechanism dubbed ‘time for peace, cooperation and progress in South Caucasus,'” he wrote.
