Jafar Khashe, Head of the Caucasus Studies Institute in Iran, answered the questions of the Orbeli Analytical Center related to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, caused by the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the military-political tension in the region and Iran-Armenia relations.

– Dear Mr. Jafar Khashe, thank you for accepting the interview request. Mr. Khashe, we are witnessing serious political and security threats in various parts of the world, including our region. As natives of this region, the Armenian and Iranian peoples, connected with multithreaded cultural connections and being several thousand years old neighbors and friends, are trying to face new challenges, often showing fairly close positions. How do you think the bilateral cooperation can be made more effective in the context of facing joint challenges?

– Yes, there are serious political and security threats in the Caucasus, which received modern features with the help of extra-regional players, such as the interweaving and mutual influence of military and security threats, technological efficiency, battlefield expansion and increased mobility, as well as the combination of soft and hard powers. To confront these growing threats, it is necessary to be even more prepared in the soft and hard dimensions. 

The Baku coalition (consisting of England, the United States, Turkey, the Zionist regime and Takfiri [1] forces) tries to make the most of this situation and of the imbalance in the region, since it understands, that such opportunities may appear once in a hundred years.

The Caucasus faces dangerous days. Days, the results of the developments of which may perhaps decide the course of the future hundred years of the region. Thus, bilateral and multilateral cooperation is required to counter these combined threats. First of all, the bureaucratic problems should be solved at the bilateral level. In this regard, the expert Zhanna Vardanyan’s proposal to create a joint Armenian-Iranian information center will be very effective. All the obstacles in bilateral relations are due to the lack of serious determination of the sides and the absence of a written and comprehensive plan. Customs laws and regulations between the two countries should be simplified as much as possible. Communication infrastructures in Iran and in Armenia must be improved through determination, thorough and consistent work. 

The existing obstacles and problems do not depend on the third party, have no political reasons, but are merely caused by the indifference of the two sides, which prevents the relations from developing. Besides these threats, an important war is being waged against the Caucasian region’s chief heirs, directed against their traditions and symbols. 

The Baku coalition creates and publishes an inverted history of the historical realities of the region in order to increase its own interests and this fake and hateful narrative has targeted current and future generations. And according to Iranologist Vardan Voskanyan, if Iran and Armenia as “two states, one civilization” and as the real owners of the region’s history, will lose their future if not being smart.

Azerbaijan with its current authorities is an unwanted element in the region and is against its own people and others. Our tangible and intangible common heritage should be preserved in the region and should be passed on to future generations through true history. In this regard, the scientific-cultural relations between the two countries should be deepened and expanded. The one-day conference held at the initiative of the Orbeli Center at the end of last year was an effective way for these events to be consistent and publicized in a variety of ways. Armenia and the Armenian people have always been the gateway to ideas, material and cultural products of the modern world into Iran. The Armenians of Armenia and Iran occupy a special place in the consciousness of the Iranian people, Iranian culture and art should be used in the best way to develop scientific and cultural ties between the two countries.

– As you know, the humanitarian situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh has become extremely tense as a result of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. About 120,000 people are under blockade for more than a month and there is a shortage of a number of essential goods. Azerbaijani actions of closing the Lachin Corridor are illegal and grossly violate its international obligations, in particular, the provisions of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020. What is Iran’s stance in this issue and how does it see the resolution of this crisis?

– The Baku coalition’s actions of blocking the Lachin Corridor and endangering the lives of thousands of people in the region is a crime against humanity, according to the civil rights, international law and the Article 7 of Rome Statute [2]. Based on this article, it is subject to international prosecution and Azerbaijani authorities and perpetrators will be personally responsible for these crimes. Crimes against humanity are special acts, committed intentionally by or on behalf of a state as part of an organized policy, usually against civilians, in war or peacetime. Crime against humanity differs from a war crime, since a war crime is usually a forced act committed by soldiers, whereas a crime against humanity is committed to promote the policy of a government or organization. Such violent actions are considered a gross violation of human rights.

Armenians have always been an oppressed nation in the Caucasus. In the international practice, the term crime against humanity was first used in May 1915, by Great Britain, France and Russia, related to the Armenian Genocide organized by the Ottomans. At that time, these three countries, condemning the massacre of Armenians, accused the Ottoman government of committing a crime against humanity. It was noted in the statement that all members of the Ottoman government, as well as their agents, involved in the murders are personally responsible for these crimes. It should be noted, that a crime against humanity has a broader meaning than a genocide. Actually, genocide is one of the examples of a crime against humanity, which is currently happening in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The Baku coalition, especially the Takfiri members of this coalition, have committed war crimes several times in the Caucasus, actions that bear the style of ISIL and Takfiris, which is unprecedented in the Caucasus region. During the second Karabakh war, we have witnessed episodes of beheadings of Karabakh residents, including the elderly by Baku soldiers (can be replaced by the Takfiri forces) in the videos published many times. During the attack of Baku forces against Armenia in September 2022, we witnessed war crimes, including the beheading of Armenian soldiers. These evidences the Daesh ideology and the presence of Daesh itself in the Baku forces. These are evidences of the presence of Takfirs in the region, which the Baku authorities have hypocritically denied many times, however the facts state otherwise.    

– Iranian experts, politicians and diplomats always say that Armenian-Iranian political relations are at a high level, and in the last few months there has been a lot of talk about the need to develop military cooperation between the two countries. What do you think what are the prospects for bilateral cooperation, and what fundamental problems will be solved by the activation of military-political relations?

– People are the main components of the most important and stable dimension of relations in the international arena.  Governmental, command and project relations may be at a high level, but have to be transformed with a change of government. Therefore, relations based on people, including cultural, tourism, economic and academic relations should be further expanded for long-term projects between Iran and Armenia. However, today the situation in the region is such that it is necessary to take immediate measures. Besides the long-term projects, new agendas must be set and implemented to bring the region’s situation back to normal. It is very important to carefully assess the threats and consider the solutions according to threats. Nowadays, the threats against the major powers of the region are multifaceted and combined. To counter these threats, which have both military and security, as well as cultural and social aspects, the cooperation between Iran and Armenia should be expanded in all these dimensions. There was a signboard with the word “Peace” under two crossed swords at the entrance of the Chair of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, which was very educational and interesting to me. That is, peace cannot be established without a sword. 

The presence of Iranian peacekeepers alongside Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh can be one the areas of cooperation. Currently, in terms of dangers around the Lachin road and Russia’s failure to solve the problem, the need for the presence of Iranian peacekeepers in the Caucasus is felt more than ever. In all the projects of the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh issue, it has always been emphasized to return the 7 regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange on ensuring the security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Maintaining the security of Karabakh Armenians was emphasized in all aspects in the statement of the leader of Iran. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran can be one of the guarantors of the security of Karabakh in the context of the stable peace agreement of Karabakh.

– What role can Armenia play as a transit country neighboring Iran, against the backdrop of changes in traditional supply routes in the world due to the impact of Ukrainian crisis, what benefits can the two countries get not only economically but also politically and geopolitically?

– Under the rule of liberalism in the international system, economic and transit projects are among the main priorities of political entities, that is, it is the international system and the atmosphere that governs it, that determine the priorities of political units, in particular, the governments. Hence, each country, based on its power and capacity, wants to have a share of those projects, so that it can increase its geopolitical weight while securing economic benefits. Thus, the main goal of these projects is not economic, but completely political. They always try to prevent other countries from participating in their projects or they even isolate their rival/enemy countries. This is the main logic of corridor management. In this context, we can analyze the US policy against Iran in the region. All the US plans are to bypass Iran and Russia in the region. Moreover, in this context, we can analyze the policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan against Armenia. Although within the logic of economic advantages, the route passing through Armenia is more convenient than the route through Georgia, however, based on political considerations, we see that the Georgian route remains as a priority.

We should pay attention to an important issue. Today, the project of the communication road connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan under the “Zangezur Corridor” false name is not based on the economic and transit logic, but on the country’s opening and disguised territorial ambitions’ logic. It is the logic of Baku, that hinders the transit cooperation of the countries in the region. As the RA Prime Minister Mr. Pashinyan said “The only disturbing problem is Azerbaijan’s ongoing discussion about the so-called corridor”. Thus, as long as it is guided by this logic, we are facing serious obstacles.    

Geographically, Armenia is located at the intersection of east-west and north-south corridors. The operation of one of these projects, may contribute to the interests of this country. Participation in this project with economic incentives is desirable and welcomed in the international system. Today, if we look at the realities in the region, as the RA Prime Minister Mr. Pashinyan said, Armenia’s participation in the North-South Corridor is more attainable.

Various agreements have been signed between Iran and Armenia in this direction. But an important issue is the situation of the communication infrastructures between the two countries, which doesn’t meet international transit standards. If the communication infrastructures between Iran and Armenia were in good condition, today the interest of many countries would be overlapped, and Baku would not be able to easily threaten the territorial integrity of Armenia, since that threat would cost heavily on Baku, causing serious international and political consequences.    

The investments of the Armenian government in the standardization of communication routes in Syunik, as well as the attraction of international investments, including from India and Iran, will have great economic and geopolitical benefits for Armenia.

– In recent months, there was a tension between Iranian and Azerbaijani sides. What is the state of relations between Iran and Azerbaijan now?

–To answer this question, the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan should be considered from two perspectives:  there has always been a principal reservation in Iran’s foreign policy towards Baku. Baku always abused that reservation.

There is a principal in Baku’s attitude towards Iran: Baku has decided to set a minimum and maximum level in its relations with Iran. At best, the relations don’t rise above the specified maximum level and at worse, don’t fall below the minimum level. Currently, Baku’s relations with us are at the lowest level, so according to the above-mentioned logic, we should see the relations return to a relatively good level. However, this theory is not noticed in the current developments, and it seems that perhaps Baku is preparing to further reduce the minimum level of relations with Iran. But if we look at relations from Iran’s viewpoint, Iran has always had a friendly attitude towards all its neighbors, especially towards Azerbaijan.  

According to revolutionary government of Iran, Azerbaijan is the closest country to Iran in religious, cultural, linguistic and historical similarities. Hence, due to these components, we have always seen neglect and reserved approach of Iran’s foreign policy towards Azerbaijani mistakes and disruptive actions. However, numerous actions and mistakes of Azerbaijan were denied by Baku authorities. Today a situation has arisen that caused Iran to change its reservation policy towards Azerbaijan. Baku no longer denies many questions. If yesterday Baku’s state media wrote anti-Iranian things, today the first person of this country talks nonsense against Iran. The threats of the Zionist regime have become much more obvious and serious, and Baku shows no remorse for its destructive behavior. These developments show the tendency of increasing tension in the relations between the two countries, and if the smoke of that tension reaches the eyes of the Azerbaijani people, then the eyes of the government will not be protected from that smoke.

Of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially under the current government of the policy of neighborliness with the neighborhood, is positive about cooperation with its neighbors and tries to have the best relations with those who welcome this policy.  

---

[1] An extremist and radical Islamic group, whose members accuse other Muslims of apostasy. Most of the Muslim terrorists are supporters of Takfirism.
[2] https://www.un.org/ru/law/icc/rome_statute(r).pdf