SAEDNEWS: A U.S.-backed proposal to take control of a key transport corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan has raised alarms in Tehran, as Washington—allegedly with Ankara’s consent—seeks to install a private American firm near Iran’s northern frontier under the guise of peacekeeping.
According to Saed News, the United States has proposed taking control of the contentious Zangezur Corridor, a narrow 32-kilometer stretch of land between Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. Framed as a bid to ease long-standing tensions between Baku and Yerevan, the plan envisions a private U.S. company managing the corridor for a century, with all parties granted access under a supposedly neutral framework. The scheme, unveiled by U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, could effectively establish an American logistical presence along Iran’s northern border—a development with significant geopolitical implications.
Speaking in New York, Barrack characterized the dispute over the corridor as minor yet persistent, urging international intervention to facilitate a lasting peace deal. He dismissed Armenian sovereignty concerns, suggesting the road be leased to the U.S. for 100 years to guarantee stability. Armenia, however, has categorically opposed any third-party control, viewing the proposal as a violation of its territorial integrity.
Despite having no direct border with the corridor, Turkey has played a central role in promoting the plan. According to Middle East Eye, Ankara has pressured Baku to finalize the peace deal and warned Azerbaijani officials about Iran’s regional influence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has controversially claimed that the corridor issue is “with Iran, not Armenia.”
Azerbaijan and Turkey have rebranded the project the “Zangezur Corridor,” appropriating the historic name of Armenia’s Syunik province. Baku has gone further, renaming a neighboring district “Eastern Zangezur” in an apparent bid to assert historical claims. The proposal mirrors EU suggestions to involve a U.S. logistics company in managing cross-border flows, modeled after international monitoring efforts in separatist regions of Georgia.
As leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan prepare to meet in Dubai later this month, the corridor remains a flashpoint. With Russia sidelined and Tehran increasingly wary of U.S. and Turkish encroachment, the future of this narrow road may shape the broader balance of power in the South Caucasus.
