General Mousavi made the comments in a meeting with Secretary of the visiting Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan in Tehran on Saturday.

During the meeting, the top Iranian general pointed to the historical and cultural commonalities between the two countries, emphasizing that peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will bring peace and security to the region and these trends are always welcomed by Iran.

Presence of extra-regional powers, including the United States, is the main source of concern in the region, he underlined.

Armenia’s top security official, for his part, emphasized the growing trend of relations and cooperation between the two countries, stressing the need to further strengthen the foundations of these relations and develop security cooperation.

Grigoryan assessed the agreements signed on August 8 between the two countries within the framework of Armenia's Crossroads of Peace initiative and emphasized that Armenia's preservation of its national sovereignty over the Syunik Pathway (corridor) and efforts to prevent its negative impact on Armenia’s relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During the meeting, bilateral military relations between Iran and Armenia were also briefly reviewed.

The two sides also emphasized the need to further develop the cooperation.

MA/6574900