Question: Recently, high-ranking civil and military officials of Iran have been voicing opinions like "changing borders in the region is our red line" and putting forward claims that are far from reality. Can we have your opinion on this regard?

Answer: It's known that the Republic of Azerbaijan has been subject to invasion and occupation. Using force, the Armenian side occupied twenty percent of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including 132 km of our border with Iran. For 30 years, Iran has not expressed opinions on the forceful change of borders. It’s unknown whom these statements made by Iran are addressed to. There are meeting formats of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which took place in Moscow and Brussels. Negotiations in these formats continue. As part of the negotiations conducted in these formats, State Commissions on delimitation of state border with consent of both sides was established and its composition was agreed upon. We believe that Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, including the border issue between the two states should be resolved without interference from outside.

Question: Today Iran's border guards issued a statement that a terrorist group was identified and arrested in Khudafarin district. Do you have any comments on this, considering that Khudafarin region borders Azerbaijan?

Answer: Azerbaijan-Iran state border is known as the border of friendship and cooperation. Mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijani and Iranian border guards is exemplary. Occasional border violations and smuggling are handled through direct contact between commanders on the ground. Today's statement of the Iranian border guard agency has nothing to do with the Azerbaijan-Iran state border.

Question: It is understood from the statements of Iranian officials that Iranian side considers the Zangezur Corridor as blocking of the Iran-Armenia border. Has this issue been discussed in contacts with the Iranian side?

Answer: The Commander-in-Chief congratulated the peoples of Azerbaijan, as well as Iran during the 44-day Patriotic War on the occasion of the liberation of the Azerbaijan-Iran border, which was under occupation before. Azerbaijan considers its borders with Iran as an opportunity for further development of trade and cooperation. Not only the railway connection was cut off with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an integral part of Azerbaijan, as a result of occupation, but also with Iran. In accordance with the Trilateral Statement dated November 10, 2020, discussions are ongoing within a Commission on opening and restoring communications in the region. In parallel, Azerbaijan has signed an agreement with Iran on the creation of infrastructure passing through the territory of Iran to connect the East Zangezur economic region of Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. According to the reached agreements, the groundbreaking ceremony of a bridge took place on September 22, 2022 in Zangilan region with the participation of officials of both countries. Describing the Zangezur Corridor as cutting off Iran's border with Armenia is fundamentally wrong and far from reality. On the contrary, Zangezur Corridor is an important project that deepens the relations between our countries and promises new prospects for regional cooperation.