Khamenei's adviser: Iran is ready to "break the legs" of those promoting TRIPP

Tehran categorically opposes the implementation of the Zangezur corridor, including its promotion under the name "Trump Route" (TRIPP), and accuses Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of opening a new chapter of hostility in the South Caucasus.

This harsh statement was made by Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser on international affairs to Iran's Supreme Leader, in a programmatic article titled "Frankly and sincerely with Mr. Prime Minister" in the pages of the newspaper Ettelaat.

The main emphasis in the publication is placed on Yerevan's actions surrounding the TRIPP project, the escalation of ties with the West, and the destabilization of the regional agenda.

Khamenei's adviser characterized the policy of Armenia's current prime minister as "extremely dangerous for the region," emphasizing that one of the harmful actions of Nikol Pashinyan's government "was the intensification of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan." According to Velayati, because of Yerevan's unpredictable decisions, "its relations with Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey and, possibly in the future, with Georgia are now unstable and unpredictable."

Particular indignation in Tehran was caused by the Armenian parliament's approval of the transport route construction project and Yerevan's agreement to Washington's terms. Velayati assessed Yerevan's approval of the U.S. president's "groundless and ill-considered proposal" on the TRIPP project as "blind submission to the interests of the West," which "only destroys traditional ties in the Caucasus."

The Iranian politician warned Yerevan against dangerous illusions about a weakening of Moscow's attention to the region because of the war in Ukraine. "Iran, with or without Russia, considers itself responsible for ensuring the security of the South Caucasus," the adviser noted, recalling that the strategic positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran's leadership on the inadmissibility of changing borders are an absolute "red line."

Velayati emphasized that Tehran is ready to defend these principles "by any means." "I made it clear to the Armenian ambassador that if Trump and his allies want to cross this Iranian red line, we will break their legs," the politician stated.