Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran and Armenia should not allow any foreign power to disrupt their friendly and strategic ties.

Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan in Tehran on Saturday.

He pointed to the recent US-brokered peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and voiced concern over the presence of foreign forces in the region.

The Iranian president, however, noted that these concerns had been largely alleviated following the explanations and reassurances provided by Armenian officials.

On August 8, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a US-brokered peace agreement in Washington, under which a transport corridor linking Azerbaijan to its landlocked exclave Nakhchivan is to be established.

Under the deal, Armenia granted exclusive rights to the United States to develop a corridor in its southern province of Syunik, which borders Iran, to connect Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan.

Iran has long opposed the idea, saying it would change the geopolitical order of the Southern Caucasus and would restrict Iran’s ability to use transport networks in the region.

Pezeshkian further said that during his “successful and fruitful” visit to Armenia in August, senior officials from both sides had reached positive agreements.

He expressed Tehran’s satisfaction with the implementation of the North-South Transport Corridor. He added that the completion of the project would strengthen economic and even political convergence among member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Iran is a party to the International North-South Transport Corridor, a 7,200-kilometer (4,473-mile) multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes that facilitates the movement of 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.

The Iranian president emphasized the need to expand trade and investment between the two nations to boost the volume of economic exchanges.

For his part, Grigoryan described Pezeshkian’s visit to Armenia as highly important and commended his valuable efforts to strengthen bilateral relations.

He said Tehran and Yerevan enjoy strategic relations and expressed his country’s readiness to sign a document for comprehensive cooperation.

The top Armenian security official expressed hope that the infrastructure and development projects in his country would be implemented with the participation of Iranian companies.

Armenia is ready to increase the volume of economic exchanges with Iran several times beyond the current level, he emphasized.

Earlier in the day, Grigoryan met with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani.

During the meeting, Larijani expressed Tehran’s opposition to any move resulting in geopolitical changes in the Caucasus region.

He welcomed Armenia’s inclusion in a strategic transit corridor that passes through the Islamic Republic, connecting its northern neighbors to the Sea of Oman.