On August 24, Ali Akbar Velayati, the adviser on international affairs to Iran's Supreme Leader, stated that the Caucasus has historically served as a strategic security buffer for Iran. Velayati noted that this role dates back to the time of the Achaemenid Persian king Cyrus the Great. He emphasized that, according to the Greek historian and geographer Herodotus, Cyrus constructed fortifications in the Caucasus to protect Iran from raids by nomadic tribes, establishing the region’s long-standing function as a defensive border.

Interestingly, Velayati recently dismissed the concept of the Zangezur Corridor, which aims to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, warning that its implementation could threaten the security of the South Caucasus. He also stressed that Iran would oppose the establishment of an American corridor in the region, regardless of whether Moscow cooperates with Tehran.