High-Level Iran, Armenia Defense Meeting Held

YEREVAN—Armenia’s Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian on Tuesday met with Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister and Armed Forces Logistics, Reza Mosaffari Niya to discuss expanding cooperation in the defense and military.
The defense ministry issued a short statement and would not elaborate on the details of the discussions.
In the last months, Iran and Armenia have been strengthening relation in a number of areas, including an announcement last week in Tehran that Iran would construct a railway that would give Armenia opportunity to have access to international waterways. The plan envisions bolstering the railway link to allow Armenia access to Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas and to Georgia in the north.
A call from Ohanian to strengthen Iran-Armenia defense ties was echoed last year when he visited Tehran and met with Iranian officials, including Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.
“Establishing a secure environment is possible only through the development and reinvigoration of all-out ties among regional countries, especially through direct defensive and security relations,” Vahidi said at the time as reported by the IRNA news agency.
At the time, Ohanian highlighted the significance of bilateral cooperation for promoting regional security, saying that the crises in the region can only be solved through constructive bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and stressed Armenia’s resolve to increase mutual cooperation with Iran.