Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed on Tuesday his government’s fierce opposition to Azerbaijan's efforts to establish a land corridor through Armenia that would connect it to Nakhichevan, a Soviet-era exclave on the Turkish border. The proposed scheme would effectively cut off the Islamic Republic’s access to the Black Sea while truncating its border with Armenia.

Khamenei “emphasized the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Armenia and affirmed that the Islamic Republic of Iran views the Zangezur Corridor as detrimental to Armenia, reaffirming its steadfast position on this matter,” read a statement posted on Khamenei's website.

The statement went on that Pashinyan had aired his own opposition to the plan. Azerbaijan is demanding unfettered access through Armenia without being subjected to Armenian border controls. Armenia says such access would violate its sovereignty.

Azerbaijan’s top ally, Turkey, supports the transportation network, as it would connect Turkish exporters to Central Asian markets without having to go through Iran. Armenia’s official readout of the meeting made no mention of Zangezur.