Radar Armenia’s interlocutor is Shahan Gantaharyan, an international scholar.
– Different hypotheses were circulated regarding the tragedy between the Iranian president and the foreign minister. In your opinion, do the developments taking place in the geopolitical and domestic political life of Iran give reason to think that this could be a terrorist act?
– Official Tehran does not talk about terrorism or disruption. Informal centers do not exclude. There is a direct accusation against Israel by certain circles.
– What changes in Iran’s most important political positions imply changes in foreign policy?
– There will be drastic changes in foreign policy. The number 1 figure in Iran is the country’s spiritual leader, and determines the general policy. However, essential personnel changes are not excluded. De-escalation of relations with the West will continue. The general change course will be slow, gradual, and without shocks. There will be new processes in the region, making it convincing that the US and Iran are behind it, such as the Lebanon-Israel maritime demarcation or the clarification of the red lines of the Gaza conflict, or not providing a large-scale capacity for war, as well as the start of Riyadh-Tehran relations.
Is it possible for there to be drastic changes in Iran-Armenia relations, and will the Iranian side change its approach, taking into account the recent meeting between Raisi and Aliyev and Aliyev’s statement that he hopes that the reached agreements will be implemented?
– I think Iran is extremely worried about the installation of Israeli bases in its border areas. If the disruption hypothesis is confirmed, it will be the joint responsibility of Azerbaijan and Israel. On the other hand, there is the factor of the Azeri population in Iran, which Tehran takes into account. Among those killed in the helicopter were the governor of Tabriz and the authorized representative of the spiritual leader of Tabriz. I think both played a role in opening an Armenian consulate in Tabriz. This is directly related to the opening of the Iranian consulate in Syunik, which will keep Iran’s border status with Armenia unchanged. In this case, there is a point of overlap between the interests of Tehran and Yerevan. It is not excluded that the smoothing of the Gulf-Black Sea land routes will gain momentum. This is also in the interests of both countries.
