TEHRAN- Iran’s top security official warned on Sunday that any geopolitical changes in the Caucasus region will undermine stability and worsen the conflicts, underlining the need for concerted efforts to guarantee peace and security in the region.

Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), made the warning during a meeting with Secretary of Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan, who visited Tehran on Sunday afternoon. 

Changes in the geopolitics of the region would trigger “insecurity and instability” and “exacerbate” the challenges that lie ahead, Ahmadian cautioned. 

In order to prevent conflict and tension in the region, Ahmadian reiterated Iran’s policy of fostering cooperation and interaction with neighbors, saying that “explicit and constructive dialogue among the regional countries would pave the way for sustainable security, balanced development, and welfare and comfort of the people of the region.”

He also suggested that Iran is prepared to set the stage for meetings amongst regional powers.

Grigoryan, for his part, emphasized Iran’s crucial contribution to the creation of peace and stability in the Caucasus and urged Tehran to continue doing so.

The meeting between the security chiefs of Iran and Armenia took place as at least 100,000 ethnic Armenians have now fled the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karbakh since Azerbaijan reclaimed the territory in a lightening offensive.

They account for more than four-fifths of the population of Nagorno-Karbakh, according to CNN. 

The rapid exodus has prompted the United Nations to send its first mission to the territory in about 30 years.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said the UN team on the ground would “identify the humanitarian needs for both people remaining and the people that are on the move.”

Though internationally seen as part of Azerbaijan, the Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karbakh had spent decades under the control of a separatist, de facto government until Azerbaijan’s victory on September 20. The former breakaway republic will cease to exist as of next year.

Azerbaijan has long been clear about the choice confronting Karabakh Armenians: Stay and accept Azerbaijani citizenship, or leave.

As of Saturday morning, 100,417 people had been “forcibly displaced,” the Armenian prime minister’s spokeswoman, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, told reporters.

Armenian authorities have responded to the outflux of people by asking the International Court of Justice, a judicial arm of the UN, to tell Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops – citing fears of “punitive actions.”

They requested the court order Azerbaijan to “withdraw all military and law-enforcement personnel from all civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh,” while refraining from “taking any actions directly or indirectly” that would have the effect of displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians or preventing those who fled from returning.

Azerbaijan should also allow people to leave the region “without any hindrance” if they wanted to, the Armenian authorities demanded.

Armenia also asked the court to direct Azerbaijan to grant the UN and the Red Cross access to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan should “refrain from taking punitive actions against the current or former political representatives or military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian authorities said.