Former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati has issued a direct warning to Nikol Pashinyan over the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), declaring that Iran will resist attempts to cross its security red lines in the South Caucasus.
In an article titled “Openly and Frankly with Mr. Prime Minister,” published in Iran’s Ettelaat newspaper and reported by Purson, Velayati sharply criticized Pashinyan’s foreign policy and the proposed transport corridor through Armenia’s southern Syunik region.
Velayati, who served as Iran’s foreign minister from 1981 to 1997 and later as a senior international affairs adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said he had personally communicated Tehran’s objections during separate meetings with Armenia’s ambassador to Iran and a visiting Armenian deputy foreign minister.
He warned that Iran considers the security of the South Caucasus a strategic responsibility, regardless of Russia’s involvement.
Velayati also recalled Iran’s military exercises near the Armenian border, describing them as demonstrations of Tehran’s determination to defend its regional interests.
His strongest warning concerned the possibility of the United States and its allies crossing Iran’s declared red lines.
“If Trump and his allies attempt to cross this red line, we will break their legs,” Velayati wrote, recounting what he said he had told Armenia’s ambassador.
The former foreign minister accused Pashinyan of pursuing policies increasingly aligned with Washington and other Western powers, arguing that these decisions threaten regional stability and Armenia’s relations with neighboring countries.
Velayati also criticized what he described as parliamentary approval of the corridor project, questioning the consequences for Armenia.
The unusually confrontational article underscores continuing Iranian opposition to arrangements that Tehran considers a threat to its security interests along the Armenian border.
While the article reflects Velayati’s stated position, it does not by itself establish a formal change in Iranian state policy. His account of private diplomatic exchanges also remains independently unconfirmed.
