TEHRAN – The Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has held a meeting to discuss a variety of issues including the developments in the Caucasus region.

Abolfazl Amouei, the spokesman for the parliamentary committee, said Mohammad Ahadi, the deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces for international cooperation, presented a report on the various contacts between Iran’s defense officials and their Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. 

“In this meeting, it was emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran sensitively monitors developments in the security environment of the Caucasus and by activating defense diplomacy, it follows up its national security considerations,” Amouei said, according to IRNA. 

According to Amouei, Mojtaba Damirchilou, an assistant to the Iranian foreign minister in Eurasian affairs, also participated in the meeting and expatiated on Iran’s bilateral relations with Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran differentiates between the totality of Iran-Azerbaijan relations and the incident that happened to the embassy of this country in Tehran. Following the incident, delegations were exchanged between the two countries, and finally, a judicial indictment was issued for the perpetrator,” Damirchilou was quoted by Amouei as saying in the meeting. 

The lawmakers attending the meeting expressed their opinions about the developments in the Caucasus, according to Amouei. 

He added, “In this meeting, the representatives emphasized that the international and geopolitical borders of this region cannot be changed under any circumstances and will not be acceptable.”

The meeting comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, held a phone conversation. 

The two top diplomats also placed emphasis on the implementation of the agreements between the two countries, particularly in the economic field, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry. 

During this conversation, necessary arrangements were made concerning the future of relations, such as the exchange of economic and political delegations and meetings between officials from both countries.

The two foreign ministers, following a discussion on recent developments in the Caucasus, including the situation in Karabakh and the current border tension between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, emphasized the necessity of resolving outstanding issues through dialogue, highlighting that extra-regional interventions would only complicate regional matters.

The parties also exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation in regional and international forums.

In the parliamentary meeting, nuclear issues were also addressed. 

Amouei said Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), offered an assessment of the recent meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors. 

“The European parties failed to approve a resolution against our country, but by issuing a political statement, they damaged the working environment between Iran and the Agency. Iran also responded,” Kamalvandi said in the meeting, according to Amouei.