One of the three Yerevan-Tehran flights scheduled for September 23 has been cancelled, and one of the two flights planned for the following day will also not operate. At the same time, there are no changes to tomorrow’s scheduled flight to Tabriz, according to the website of Zvartnots airport.
The issue has gained new urgency after the US government announced restrictions on Iran’s civil aviation on September 8 as part of a broader package of tough economic sanctions. Azerbaijan then halted flights by Iranian airlines, with Azerbaijani media linking the move to the tightening sanctions regime.
That has raised the question of whether Armenia could also come under pressure to curb civilian passenger traffic with Iran. Iran expert Nver Davtyan says it is still not fully clear, from a sanctions perspective, why Azerbaijan took that decision. For Armenia, however, the key issue will be the official position of Yerevan: how it explains the need to keep the flights and what arguments it presents to the United States.
Davtyan argues that at this stage Armenia needs to justify the necessity of its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran not only in air transport, but more broadly in economic ties. He said the structure of Armenia-Iran trade shows that goods imported from Iran are largely intended for domestic consumption in Armenia, and that a significant share consists of essential products.
In his view, this is not a situation in which Iran is using Armenia to bypass sanctions or to conduct transactions with Europe and other countries through Armenian channels. He added that Armenia is not in the same position as, for example, India.
Davtyan also said the situation has not yet reached the point where Armenia would be forced to choose between relations with Iran and Western demands. According to him, international actors themselves still do not fully understand what their future relations with Iran will look like. The active phase of military action is not under way, he said, but confrontation continues in other areas, and it remains unclear what agreements may be reached and which provisions would eventually be implemented.
A1+ said it had sought clarification from Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee about the reasons for the flight cancellations and possible restrictions on air links with Iran, but had not received a response.
