Iranian daily to President Pezeshkian: Do not put too much confidence in Russia

In an editorial on Saturday, Johmouri-e Eslami wrote, “After the deception on the JCPOA (the Iran nuclear deal), dragging Iran into (the war in) Ukraine, and accompanying the sheikhs in the south of the Persian Gulf in denying Iran’s ownership of the three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, now Russia has a plan for Zangezur,” referring to a corridor that gives Azerbaijan unimpeded access to its enclave Nakhchivan at the cost of cutting off Iran’s direct access to Armenia.

Johmouri-e Eslami warned the new Iranian administration that Russia’s plan to open the corridor is meant to weaken Iran’s strategic position in the region.

“Considering that the Russian statesmen from the Tsarist era to the Soviet Union and to the current Russia have always shown that they do not care about the interests of their neighbors, including Iran, to achieve their own goals, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s officials should… be aware of the harsh reality that Russians cannot be trusted,” the daily warned.

It advised the Pezeshkian administration to “firmly stand against Russia’s greed to create the Zangzur Corridor and not allow the slightest change in the northwestern borders.”

“Russia’s violations in recent years and their failure to fulfill their promises regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran showed that we have to return to the policy of ‘Neither the East Nor the West’ and avoid excessive trust in Russia to blunt Russia’s dagger,” the newspaper concluded.