Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has expressed Tehran’s opposition to any move resulting in geopolitical changes in the Caucasus region, welcoming Armenia’s inclusion in a key transit corridor, which travels through the Islamic Republic linking the countries lying to its north to the Sea of Oman.

Larijani made the remarks in a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Armen Grigoryan, in Tehran on Saturday.

In the meeting, Iran's top security chief expressed Tehran’s satisfaction with the level of economic, political, security, and defense relations with Yerevan, emphasizing cooperation with the northern neighbor in the completion of the North-South Transport Corridor.

Iran is a party to the International North-South Transport Corridor, which is a 7,200-kilometer (4,473-mile) long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight among the country, Central Asia, India, Azerbaijan, Russia, and the rest of Europe.

Therefore, by enjoying access to Iran as a transit hub, the landlocked Central Asian states would be able to access the global transit network.

Larijani also declared Iran’s support for peace dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and elaborated on the Islamic Republic’s theory of regional peace and stability.

“Iran has always supported the independence and strength of regional countries to ensure lasting security,” he stated.

Grigoryan, for his part, hailed the bilateral relations as unprecedented, stating that his visit to Tehran is aimed at the expansion of ties in various spheres.

He added that Armenia seeks to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership document with Iran in the near future.

The secretary of the Security Council of Armenia stressed that his country attaches paramount significance to the five principles of national sovereignty, respect for territorial integrity, exercise of national judicial jurisdiction, inviolability of borders, and the principle of reciprocity.

Grigoryan also stated that Yerevan is ready to provide the necessary guarantees to Tehran to ensure that relations between Iran and Armenia will not be harmed.

He underlined Armenia’s inherent opposition to regional geopolitical changes.

The top Armenian security official also stressed that in the course of peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, the agreements clearly preserved Armenia’s exclusivity in security, military, and customs issues.