One of Armenia’s key partners in diversifying its international relations has been Iran. Mehdi Sobhani, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the IslamicRepublic of Iran to Armenia, made this statement during a broadcast on Armenian Public Television. Speaking about the unblocking ofregional transport routes, Ambassador Sobhani stated: “We are committed to expanding these routes and connections. We have adopted and implemented an independentforeign policy in our relations with Armenia. This policy is not aimed against any other country—it serves the interests of both nations andpeoples.” The ambassador emphasized thatIran’s position remains unchanged:any unblocking of routes must occurunder the territorial integrity and sovereigntyof the Republic of Armenia.“The Prime Minister has clearlystated that control will be exercised byArmenia. Beyond that, I haven’t heardanything else. The rest are merely mediaspeculations, and we cannot basean official stance on such assumptions,”Sobhani said in response toa journalist’s question regarding thepossible delegation of control over theSyunik route.“Yerevan will control the Syunikroute. Everything will be under thesovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.Our position on the unblockingof routes is clear and has been statedmany times—any unblocking must occurwithin the framework of Armenia’ssovereignty,” the ambassador added.“We would like Armenia’s foreignrelations with other countries to be naturaland positive. We have establishedindependent relations with Armeniaand do not view these ties through thelens of any other country.”“We wish to develop our relationswith Armenia in all fields. We wantArmenia to live in peace and coexistharmoniously with all its neighborsbecause that serves the security of ourentire region.”“Among our neighboring countries,Armenia holds a special andunique place. Armenia is our sincereand honorable neighbor. People caninterpret that as they wish, but that isthe reality.”“Our policy toward the Republic ofArmenia is independent, and the high rankingleadership of our countrieswants these relations to further deepenand develop,” the ambassador said.According to Mehdi Sobhani, thereis mutual political understanding, andthe development of relations betweenthe two countries serves the interestsof both nations and should be highlyvalued.“Of course, we must acknowledgethat these relations may also have adversarieswho don’t want to see ourties develop in this way. They may tryto sow doubt about our positions, leadingto misunderstandings and eventuallydisagreements. However, throughmeetings and consultations, we canclarify everything and prevent suchmisconceptions from arising,” he concluded.