TEHRAN — An advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has said that Tehran will not tolerate escalation of tensions and unrest near its borders.

Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on international affairs, warned, “A small incident in the region will cause the presence and intervention of other countries, and we will definitely not tolerate this kind of anarchy near our borders.”

He reiterated that Iran is ready to mediate between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Velayati said, “In the past, when I was foreign minister, we tried hard to mediate and we were successful to some extent. However, sometimes some countries that benefitted from the conflict between the two neighbors interfered and created problems.”

Iran can play an effective role in mediating between the two Caucasian nations, the advisor said, adding that Tehran hopes that there will be no conflict between any of its neighbors.

“We will not give up any effort on this matter and we have eliminated the tensions in order to maintain peace and tranquility among our neighbors,” underlined Velayati, who was foreign minister from 1981 to 1997.

Among Iran’s different neighbors, he said the Caucasus region is particularly sensitive, therefore, Iran acts more sensitively and attaches great care towards this region. 

“One of the most important factors in establishing peace and tranquility between the countries that can play a fundamental role in this regard is the preservation of known and recognized historical borders,” Velayati added.

The former foreign minister went on to say that violation of recognized borders by one country against another causes tensions in that particular region to flare up and therefore a war breaks out. 

“The first result of this conflict is the presence of riotous and abusive countries such as the United States and the Zionist regime under the pretext of establishing a ceasefire,” the Leader’s advisor cautioned.

“With these kinds of developments, even a small border incident in this sensitive area will cause the presence and intervention of other countries and this could turn into a center of tension and crisis,” Velayati concluded.