Closing Armenian Airspace to Iranian Aircraft Would Hurt Armenia More Than Iran, Tehran Expert Says
Why It MattersThe dispute highlights how sanctions compliance pressure on regional aviation corridors could disrupt transit-dependent air links between Iran and landlocked neighbors like Armenia.
Ehsan Mohavedian, a South Caucasus expert from Tehran, told NEWS.am that Armenia's compliance with U.S. sanctions against Iran's aviation sector by closing its airspace to Iranian aircraft would harm Armenia more than it would harm Iran. He argued that Iran is Armenia's only truly reliable neighbor, and that as a landlocked country, Armenia depends on strengthening economic and transit ties with Iran to reach the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman for trade, while Iran in turn benefits from access through Armenian territory to the Caucasus and the Black Sea.
Mohavedian called the U.S. sanctions and demands concerning aviation "unreasonable and unlawful," and suggested that Armenia, like Turkey and Iraq, could find a way to maintain daily flights between Tehran and Yerevan without facing sanctions risk. He said mutual initiatives and goodwill from both governments would be needed to address the challenge and strengthen longstanding bilateral relations.
