It was recently reported that Yerevan and Tehran became sister cities and that the agreement was signed by the Mayor of Yerevan Grachya Sargsyan, and the Mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani. Armen Galjian, head of the "My Step" faction of the Yerevan Council of Elders, Armen Nersisyan, member of the "Prosperous Armenia" faction, and Davit Khazhakyan, the head of the "Luys" (Light) faction, also participated in the meeting. According to the report, both sides agreed to cooperate in the field of transport, urban development, culture, environmental protection, and a number of other areas. The question remains, why are Iran and Yerevan doing this at this time?
In an exclusive interview, prominent Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar proclaimed following the announcement: "It is a message from the Iranians that they want to make sure that they do not want others to behave in a way that they do not like. It is a hint to Israel, America, the Russians, and Azerbaijanis that Iran has allies in the region and they can spread their hegemony to every country that will agree to it. It is not just this. There are other things related to security and other forms of cooperation. Having twin cities is just part of it."
Dr. Reza Parchizadeh, a political theorist and security analyst, added: "The twin city agreement between Yerevan and Tehran has more to do with their concerns regarding Azerbaijan. For Armenia, the perception is that Yerevan has been left alone to deal with Baku while its old ally Russia is engaged in the Ukraine War. Tehran, on the other hand, is worried about the growing influence of Israel and Turkey in Azerbaijan. Both pose their own particular kinds of threats to the Islamist regime in Iran. By gaining a more secure foothold in Yerevan, Tehran hopes to ward off what it sees as Turko-Israeli encroachment upon its security from the direction of Azerbaijan."
Azerbaijani journalist Elnur Enveroglu proclaimed: "Because Iran thinks of itself alone in this region and they are losing the main player in the South Caucuses which is Azerbaijan, they did the sister city agreement. Iran is also afraid of losing this strip between Armenia and themselves. That area is going to become part of Azerbaijan. As Nakhichevan is connecting back to Azerbaijan as part of its territorial integrity, the reality of the corridor is coming about. Thus, they are losing their connection to Armenia."
According to him, "This is why they are more interested in making the connection with Armenia, which is their only ally. Other than them, Iran has no allies. Everything there inside the Islamic Republic is only for Persians and not others. That is why Iran is becoming close to Armenia. Since the Second Karabakh War when Azerbaijan opened the Zangezur corridor, this issue became more serious for Iran."
Tarlan Ahmadov, a founder of the Azerbaijani Society of Maine, concluded: "In my opinion, in the world, as cities and peoples become sister cities, there is no problem with this, as people around the world become brothers and sisters. The problem is that Iran is making it much more difficult for Armenia to make peace with Azerbaijan. Iran"s behavior in the South Caucuses is outrageous. It is not right for Armenia to become close to Iran, where the rights of people have been violated blatantly."
According to him, "Tehran is the capital of this terroristic regime, who spreads terror in Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere. How can they become the sister city of this dark-minded mullah regime? It will not bring Yerevan into a great position in the world. If Armenia wants to be a democratic country at peace with countries in the region, this is not the right time to announce this agreement. As a human and Azerbaijani, I am so upset with how Iran is playing this dirty game in this relationship. They should not forget the 35 million Azerbaijanis living in Iran and stop making Iranian-Azerbaijani relations much more difficult. For the past 100 years, they have always been against Azerbaijan. This must come to an end now."
Recently, an international congress was held in Tehran, which included the participation of women from different countries. Among the participants was Armenia"s First Lady Anna Akopyan, the wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Speaking in the Azerbaijani media, MP Agil Abbas said that Iran"s love for Armenians is an undeniable reality: "Persians and Armenians are one nation. Only religion separates them. Therefore, their sisterhood and brotherhood are not ours."
Chairman of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan Sardar Jalaloglu added: "Iran and Armenia have created an anti-Azerbaijan coalition. In this direction, there are intensive relations between the two countries." Both the visit of Pashinyan"s wife and the sister city agreement should be evaluated in this context, as Yerevan and Tehran became sister cities in order to create a front against Azerbaijan, Israel, and Turkey.
