The Region in Brief

Armenia Residents of Kirants are not being allowed to access agricultural land along the shore of the Berkaber Reservoir in areas where border delimitation has not been carried out, Armenia’s National Security Service confirmed in response to an inquiry by Sputnik Armenia. The NSS initially said additional work was required before providing a response. It issued its answer a month later. Residents are currently permitted to access their land near the reservoir only within the delimited section. “In the nondelimited areas, access is currently considered inadvisable in order to avoid possible border incidents,” the NSS said. The agency also said no border delimitation work is planned in the area in the near future. Azerbaijan Azerbaijan has again tied the reopening of the Armenian-Turkish border to the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku. Speaking to Turkish media in Ankara, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey, Rashad Mammadov, said the two processes are moving forward in parallel, adding that the border would reopen only after Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace agreement. Mammadov also claimed that Armenia would amend its constitution through a referendum following the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, describing the move as part of the broader normalization process between the two countries. Iran Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Iran’s adversaries appear to be seeking “a new phase of war,” citing both overt and covert actions by the enemy. Ghalibaf said the Iranian public “must be assured that the armed forces have made the best possible use of the ceasefire period to restore and strengthen their capabilities.” Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said Tehran is prepared to open new fronts if the conflict continues to escalate. In a statement published on Telegram, Khamenei said Iranian officials had assessed the possibility of activating additional fronts. He added that such measures would be implemented in the event of a prolonged conflict and in line with Iran’s broader strategic interests. The latest remarks came amid renewed tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States could launch new strikes against Iran as early as Friday or in the days immediately afterward. Separately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “If aggression against Iran is repeated, the regional war this time will extend beyond the borders of the Middle East.”  Meanwhile, senior Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati said developments surrounding regional transit routes in the South Caucasus are now being shaped by Tehran rather than Washington. In remarks published by Iranian media, Velayati argued that the term “Trump/Zangezur corridor” is losing political traction, presenting it as evidence of changing geopolitical realities in the region. “The change in calculations in the Caucasus and the fading of the imposed phrase ‘Trump/Zangezur corridor’ showed that the map of regional corridors is now being drawn not by Washington’s threats, but by the field realities shaped by Tehran,” Velayati claimed. Iran has consistently opposed any corridor through Armenia that could alter regional borders or reduce Tehran’s access to Armenia, repeatedly describing such proposals as a red line. Russia Moscow has intensified pressure on the Armenian government amid growing tensions over Yerevan’s deepening engagement with the West, with senior Russian officials warning of potential economic consequences for Armenia’s strategic reorientation. The latest and most direct warning came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said Armenia could lose the economic advantages it enjoys within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) if it moves closer to European integration. Lavrov said the issue was discussed during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin. He argued that participation in the EAEU and integration with the European Union are “mutually exclusive” frameworks. His remarks followed a series of sharp statements from other senior Russian officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, signaling a coordinated escalation in rhetoric toward Yerevan. Turkey Armenia and Turkey have held another round of discussions on the joint management of transboundary water resources, as Yerevan continues to present technical cooperation with Ankara as part of broader normalization efforts that have yet to produce tangible political results. According to Armenia’s Water Committee, a meeting of the Armenian-Turkish commissions overseeing the use of the Akhuryan and Araks rivers was held in Yerevan for the first time. The talks focused on the operation of the Akhuryan Reservoir and the Sardarapat water regulator, key infrastructure linked to the management of shared water resources along the Armenia-Turkey border. The meeting began at the Armenia-Turkey border checkpoint before continuing at the headquarters of Armenia’s state-run water management company, Jrar. Officials said several agreements were reached during the session, although authorities did not disclose specific details. Jrar Director Tigran Vardanyan described the signed documents as being based on “mutually beneficial conditions,” while Armenian officials framed the talks as another example of ongoing engagement between the two sides. The meeting comes amid repeated attempts by the Armenian government to portray contacts with Turkey as evidence of gradual progress toward reopening the border and normalizing relations. However, the process continues to be closely tied to developments in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. The post The Region in Brief appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.