By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Iran's ambassador to Armenia called on Azerbaijan on Sept. 17 to allow a railway connection between Armenia and Iran through Nakhchivan as Armenia moves ahead with the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). The U.S.-backed project is intended to connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave across Armenian territory.
Khalil Shirgholami raised the demand at a workshop in Yerevan titled "TRIPP: At the Crossroads of Dangerous Issues." He said Armenia was helping Azerbaijan establish an overland connection with Nakhchivan and argued that Azerbaijan should "likewise responsibly" enable a railway link between Armenia and Iran through the exclave.
The ambassador pointed to the Yeraskh-Julfa railway and said reopening the connection could connect Armenia by rail to routes running between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea.
Shirgholami also said the "Zangezur corridor" model was no longer the project under discussion. He argued that TRIPP did not fully match the objectives and demands he attributed to Ankara and Baku for an extraterritorial route, and said the project now under discussion preserves Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
A direct demand on Baku
Shirgholami had repeatedly raised security concerns over TRIPP earlier in the year. On Jan. 14, he said Iran did not trust the United States and feared Washington could use the project for security purposes. On March 2, he said the route should not be used by foreign actors against Iran and noted that Yerevan had assured Tehran it would have no military or security role. On July 8, he called for mechanisms to manage risks linked to a U.S. presence near Iran's border.
Rail connectivity between Armenia and Iran was already on the bilateral agenda. On Feb. 13, Pashinyan and Shirgholami discussed steps toward establishing railway communication between the two countries. On Sept. 17, the ambassador put the issue directly to Azerbaijan, arguing that if Armenia facilitates Azerbaijan's connection with Nakhchivan, Baku should also enable Armenia to reach Iran's rail network through the exclave.
A rail connection to Iran has also featured in Yerevan's argument for TRIPP. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on May 26 that the project could connect Armenia with Iran's railway network through Nakhchivan and open a rail route between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a similar case on July 9, linking the project to greater Armenia-Iran trade.
As of Sept. 19, Azerbaijan's government had not announced a response. Modern.az criticized the ambassador's remarks and said he had exceeded diplomatic bounds in directing such a demand at Baku.
The Nakhchivan junction
Türkiye is also building its main new South Caucasus rail link toward Nakhchivan. The 224-kilometer Kars-Iğdır-Aralık-Dilucu railway will terminate at the Dilucu border crossing, with Türkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Ministry targeting completion by the end of 2029. Turkish and Azerbaijani officials continue to describe the project as part of the Zangezur route and its connection to the trans-Caspian east-west transport network.
Iran's rail network reaches Jolfa on the Nakhchivan border, opposite the Julfa railway hub. Azerbaijan and Iran signed a memorandum on March 11, 2022 for new transport links between Azerbaijan's East Zangezur economic region and Nakhchivan through Iranian territory. Infrastructure work under that agreement is continuing, creating a second route south of Armenia.
TRIPP stems from the Aug. 8, 2025 Washington declaration signed by Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, with U.S. President Donald Trump signing as a witness. The declaration envisaged a connection between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan through Armenian territory while preserving Armenia's sovereignty and jurisdiction.
Armenia and the United States initialed their TRIPP framework agreement on May 26, 2026. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the document in Washington on June 1, and Mirzoyan completed the remote signing process in Yerevan three days later. Armenia's Constitutional Court ruled on Sept. 15 that the agreement's obligations comply with the constitution, clearing it to move to parliament for ratification.
Sources: Armenia's Foreign Ministry, Armenia's Constitutional Court, Armenian Public Radio, Armenpress, NEWS.am, PAN.am, Azerbaijan Presidency, Türkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, Modern.az, Bosphorus News review and reporting.