Opinion: 'There are no signals that Iran plans to sell weapons to Armenia right now'
Armenian defence minister’s visit to Iran
During an official visit to Tehran, Armenia’s Defence Minister Suren Papikyan met Iran’s defence and armed forces support minister, the chief of the general staff, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the country’s president.
Reports say Armenia’s defence minister discussed “the need to resolve the situation around Iran through diplomatic negotiations” during his meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian.
On Armenian-Iranian relations, both sides stressed “the importance and necessity of continued high-level dialogue, as well as strengthening peace and stability in the region”. They also discussed defence cooperation during the visit.
Iran specialist Armen Vardanyan says Armenia clearly intends to expand military-technical cooperation with Iran:
“Both sides are now moving towards signing a strategic partnership agreement. From this perspective, developing Armenian-Iranian military-technical cooperation is very important. There are no signals yet that Iran plans to sell weapons to Armenia. However, this scenario cannot be ruled out in the future.”
The key details of the visit, along with analysis from an Iran expert.
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Regional and international security discussed
Armenia’s defence ministry released limited information about Suren Papikyan’s visit to Tehran. Officials said only that the minister met his Iranian counterpart, Aziz Nasirzadeh, and discussed cooperation between the two ministries.
“The sides also exchanged views on a number of issues related to regional and international security.”
Published photographs suggest the talks went beyond a bilateral meeting and included an expanded format with the participation of an Armenian delegation.
Armenia’s defence ministry says Suren Papikyan also met Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani. They discussed bilateral defence cooperation and regional security issues.
Iran’s ambassador in Armenia notes a “higher level of relations”
Commenting on Suren Papikyan’s visit, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, Khalil Shirgolāmi, said officials had planned the trip in advance. He added that the visit reflects a higher level of Armenian-Iranian relations. The diplomat suggested the two countries may hold large-scale joint military exercises as cooperation develops further.
“Defence partnership between our two countries rests on historical ties, the inviolability of borders and the preservation of the territorial integrity of both states,” Shirgolāmi said.
He described the Armenian-Iranian border as a “border of peace” and said it holds major importance for both countries.
Commentary
Iran specialist Armen Vardanyan said Armenian-Iranian dialogue has a strategic character. He noted that weapons and military equipment Armenia purchases from India are transported through neighbouring Iran.
“Certain problems emerged shortly before this. In that context, dialogue between the Armenian authorities and the Iranian leadership was very important,” he said, without providing further details.
Like Iran’s ambassador, the expert believes the sides may have discussed future Armenian-Iranian military exercises during the talks.
“In previous exercises, Armenia held drills on its own territory and Iran on theirs, yet they were still joint exercises. However, I do not rule out that this format will evolve and lead to larger-scale joint drills.”
On 9–10 April 2025, Armenian and Iranian armed forces special units conducted joint military exercises. The drills focused on neutralising terrorist attacks on border checkpoints. Officials said the border regions of both countries faced no threats. They described the exercises as aimed at “strengthening border security”.
Vardanyan also believes tensions surrounding Iran were discussed during the visit. In his view, Tehran is concerned about two key issues:
- “Armenia must not become a platform for anti-Iranian actions,
- and Armenia’s borders must not be changed.”
He added that Armenia also has concerns linked to regional tensions involving Iran. According to the analyst, both sides therefore had plenty to discuss, and dialogue is likely to continue.
Armenian defence minister’s visit to Iran
