Bilateral relations exist between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Despite religious and ideological differences, relations between the two states remain extensively cordial and both are strategic partners in the region. Armenia and Iran are both neighbouring countries in

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

and share a common land border that is in length. The two nations share their history and culture to a large extent due to their directly interactive relationship going back for thousands of years, starting with the ancient

Median Empire Media ( Old Persian: ''Māda''; Greek: ''Mēdía''; Akkadian: '' Mādāya'') was a political entity centered in Ecbatana that existed from the 7th century BCE until the mid-6th century BCE and is believed to have dominated a significant por ...

. The territory of the modern-day state of Armenia was a part of

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

until 1828, when it was forcefully ceded to the neighbouring

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

as a consequence of Iran's defeat in the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 and the resulting

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay (; ) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the ...

. In the present-day, there are no territorial disputes between the two countries and the Armenian minority in Iran, amongst the largest and oldest communities in the world, enjoys official recognition by the Iranian state. Of special importance is the bilateral cooperation in the field of energy security, which lowers Armenia's dependence on

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and may also open up a route for Iran to supply oil and natural gas to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

through

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

in the absence of

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

Stepan Safarian Stepan (; ; ) is a rural settlement in Sarny Raion (district) of Rivne Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Its population was 4,073 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census. Current population: The settlement is located in the historic Volhynia regi ...

of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies has commented on the Armenia–Iran relationship, stating: "Given this geopolitical environment, Armenia has the legitimate right to cooperate with Iran for ensuring its security... Besides, Armenia has an energy surplus and its only major export market at present is Iran... So there is also a lot of economic interest involved." Due to the two nations' intertwined history, and with the

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

having a native presence in what is present-day

northwestern Iran Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

for millennia, many of the oldest Armenian churches and monasteries are located within Iran, such as the

Saint Stepanos Monastery The Saint Stepanos Monastery (, ; , ), also known in Armenian as Maghardavank (), is an Armenian monastery located about 15 km northwest of the city of Julfa in the province of East Azarbaijan, northwestern Iran. It is situated in a deep ca ...

and

Saint Thaddeus Monastery The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (, ''Surb Tadeosi vank''; , ''Kelisā-ye Tādeus moghadas'') The "Holy Tadeosi Cathedral" is an ancient Armenian monastery in a mountainous area of West Azerbaijan province, Iran. It is believed to be one of the ...

, amongst others. Armenia and Iran also share extensive touristic and trade ties.

Historical relations

Iran and Armenia have been in close contact for thousands of years. Since Antiquity there has always been much interaction between Ancient

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(

). The Armenian people are amongst the native ethnic groups of northwestern Iran (known as

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

), having millennia long recorded history there while the region (or parts of it) have had made up part of historical Armenia numerous times in history. These historical Armenian regions that nowadays include Iranian Azerbaijan are

Nor Shirakan Nor Shirakan (), Parskahayk () or Persarmenia, was the seventh province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, situated on the western shore of Lake Urmia, bordered on Adiabene and Atropatene, now in northwestern Iran. Zarehavan was the centre of t ...

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

, and

Paytakaran Paytakaran () was the easternmost province ( or ) of the Kingdom of Armenia. The province was located in the area of the lower courses of the Kura and Arax rivers, adjacent to the Caspian Sea. It corresponded to the territory known as Caspiane ...

. Many of the oldest

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

chapels, monasteries and churches in the world are located within this region of Iran. Armenia was conquered by the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

numerous times throughout history, particularly by the

Median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n, and

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

empires, and the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

Afsharid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, establishing the Afsharid dynasty that wo ...

, and

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

dynasties. Due to the large cultural and historical ties, Armenia is often considered part of

Greater Iran Greater Iran or Greater Persia ( ), also called the Iranosphere or the Persosphere, is an expression that denotes a wide socio-cultural region comprising parts of West Asia, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia (specifica ...

. Armenia and Iran enjoy cultural and historical ties that go back thousands of years. On the

Behistun inscription The Behistun Inscription (also Bisotun, Bisitun or Bisutun; , Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the place of god") is a multilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions, Achaemenid royal inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun i ...

of 515 BC,

Darius the Great Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

indirectly confirmed that

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

and

are synonymous when describing his conquests.

became a

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

of the Persian Empire for a long period of time. Regardless, relations between

and

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

were cordial. The cultural links between the Armenians and the Persians can be traced back to Zoroastrian times. Prior to the 3rd century AD, no other neighbor had as much influence on Armenian life and culture as

. They shared many religious and cultural characteristics, and intermarriage among Parthian and Armenian nobility was common. For twelve more centuries, Armenia was under the direct or indirect rule of the Persians. What is now modern day

was relatively recently separated from Iran by the Russian victory in the

Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) The Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 was the last major military conflict between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran, which was fought over territorial disputes in the South Caucasus region. Initiated by Russian expansionist aims and intensifie ...

.Timothy C. Dowlin
''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''
pp 728–729 ABC-CLIO, 2 December 2014 This loss in the 1826–1828 Russo-Iranian War in the first half of the 19th century made Iran irrevocably cede its Armenian territories (amongst other territories), which made part of the concept of Iran for centuries, to

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

as confirmed in the

of 1828. Following the incorporation by Russia, Armenia stayed within the Russian sphere until the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Nagorno-Karabakh War (1992)

New peace mediation efforts were initiated by the Iranian President,

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

in the first half of 1992, after the events in Khojaly and the resignation of Azeri President

Ayaz Mutallibov Ayaz Niyazi oghlu Mutallibov (12 May 1938 – 27 March 2022) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the first president of Azerbaijan. He was the last leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, and first President of Azerbaijan from 18 May 1990 until 6 M ...

. By conducting

shuttle diplomacy In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...

in Armenia and Azerbaijan for several weeks, Iranian diplomats were able to bring new President of Azerbaijan Yaqub Mammadov and President of Armenia

Levon Ter-Petrosian Levon may refer to: Music * "Levon" (song), a song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin *Levon & the Hawks The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, voc ...

to Tehran for bilateral talks on 7 May 1992. The

Tehran Communiqué The Tehran Communiqué, also known as the ''Joint statement of the heads of state in Tehran'' is the joint communiqué mediated by Iranian President, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and signed by the acting President of Azerbaijan, Yagub Mammadov and P ...

was signed by Mammadov, Ter-Petrosian, and Rafsanjani following the agreement of the parties to international legal norms, stability of borders and to deal with the refugee crisis. However, the peace efforts were disrupted on the next day when Armenian troops captured the town of

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

and failed following the capture of the town

Lachin Lachin (, , ; ) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Lachin District. It was located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which used to link the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia. The town was under control of Armen ...

on 18 May. While Iran had tried to keep the peace between two countries, Azerbaijani leadership had accused Iran for its tacit backup to Armenia, resulting in tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran, and boosting the ties between Armenia and Iran. Because of Azerbaijan's anti-Iran and

pan-Turkist Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) ...

views, as well as its irredentist claims to

, Iran has more or less supported Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan, albeit discreetly.

Post 1992

In 1994, Armenia shot down an Iranian military plane. Armenia sent a delegation to Iran to apologize. The incident did not prevent the two countries from signing trade deals. Amid the ongoing Azerbaijan-Armenia border crisis, the Iranian foreign minister has reiterated in September 2022 that the Iran-Armenia border must remain unchanged. Iran and Armenia held a two-day first-ever joint military drill in 9 April 2025 on the 44 km border between the two countries, with special forces units from both sides participating.

Trade

Especially important is the cooperation in the field of

energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption (as opposed to household energy insecurity). Access to cheaper energy has become essential to the functioning of modern ...

, as the pipeline that brings Iranian natural gas into Armenia has been completed many years ago. Additionally, the two states have also implemented other multimillion-dollar energy projects, which include the construction of two hydro-electric plants on the

Arax River The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

that marks the Armenian-Iranian border, and a third high-voltage transmission line linking their power grids and dams. In July 2007, a memorandum was signed on the start of feasibility studies on the ideas of building an Armenian-Iranian railway and a Russian-owned

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

that would process Iranian crude. In addition, the Armenian and Iranian governments have been working on a

bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: *Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

agreement that could be signed by the end of 2007. Former Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

has been quoted as saying "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes and supports the development of ties with Armenia in various areas, particularly in energy as well as transportation, sports, and tourism." Trade relations continue to be strong, as trade volume between the two countries increased to US$200 million in 2009, and to US$300 million by 2014.''Iran, Armenia Form Commission to Boost Trade''
Retrieved 18 June 2015 In 2014, the Iranian and Armenian energy ministers agreed on the construction of a new power transmission line from Armenia to Iran in line with the two country's efforts to boost energy ties. In June 2015, both nations agreed to start building the 3rd power transmission line. It was expected to be completed in 2018, but work took longer than expected. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

slowed progress down further. In January 2023, Armenian Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Hakob Vardanyan stated that he expected the project to be complete by yearend. Once the project comes on steam, it will almost triple electricity exchange between the two neighbouring countries. On January 23, 2021, Iran and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand trading relations between the two countries. The MOU was signed by the Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan and the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Alireza Razm Hosseini, in Tehran. Accordingly, sectors such as the mining industry, foodstuff, and home appliances are in the main focus that provide ways for the two countries to establish mutual cooperation.

Tourism

Armenia and Iran share extensive touristic ties. About 35,000 Iranian tourists visited Armenia in the first half of 2014, of a total of 495,967 tourists that had come to Armenia in the first half of 2014."More Iranian Tourists Travel to Armenia"
retrieved July 2015 This showed an increase of 17.3% compared to the same period last year. In 2014, Iran ranked 4th in the largest number of tourists that visit Armenia, behind Russia (44% of the total number of tourists), Georgia (28%), and the EU (Germany, France, Italy and Scandinavia). As of 2014, Iranian tourists amounted up to 7% of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Armenia. The number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia had been steadily on the rise for years, and the two nations have already unveiled plans to sign a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

on cooperation in the field of tourism. – Head of the Department of Tourism at Armenia's Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresyan, July 2014.

Cultural ties

Iranian

Parthian Parthian may refer to: Historical * Parthian people * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery sk ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

have had a massive lexical impact on the

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

with a number of linguistic borrowings entering the Armenian language. In fact, when linguists tried to classify Armenian in the late 19th century, they (erroneously) classified it as an

Iranian language The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian language ...

. Due to the very long intertwined histories, many of the millennia- and century-old

chapels, monasteries and churches in the world can be found within modern-day Iran, including

St. Thaddeus Monastery The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (, ''Surb Tadeosi vank''; , ''Kelisā-ye Tādeus moghadas'') The "Holy Tadeosi Cathedral" is an ancient Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian monastery in a mountainous area of West Azerbaijan province, Iran. It is ...

and the Chapel of Dzordzor. These three ancient Armenian places of worship have been inscribed for several years now (since 2008) in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, under the name of the "Armenian Monastic Ensemble of Iran." In recent years, Iran's cultural attaché to Armenia, Reza Atufi, has announced that the two countries have reached a preliminary agreement to make a joint television series. He said that the joint venture would portray the social and cultural life of Iran and Armenia and expand cinematic ties between the two countries.

Iranian-Armenians

The Armenian diaspora in Iran is one of the biggest and oldest Armenian communities in the world, as well as the largest in the Middle East. Although Armenians have a long history of interaction and intertwined socio-cultural record with Persia/Iran, Iran's Armenian community emerged when Shah Abbas relocated hundreds of thousands of Armenians from Nakhichevan,H. Nahavandi, Y. Bomati, ''Shah Abbas, empereur de Perse (1587–1629)'' (Perrin, Paris, 1998) at that time on the frontier with the rivalling neighboring

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, to an area of Isfahan called

New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...

in the early 17th century, which was created to become an Armenian quarter. Iran quickly recognized the Armenians' dexterity in commerce. The community became active in the cultural and economic development of Iran. The remaining Armenian minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran is still the largest Christian community in the country, ahead of the Assyrians. The Armenians remain the most powerful religious minority in Iran. They are appointed two seats in Iranian Parliament (the most within the Religious minority branch) and are the only minority with official Observing Status in the Guardian and Expediency Discernment Councils. Today in Iran there are about 150,000 – 300,000 Armenians left, half of which live in the Tehran area. A quarter live in Isfahan, and the other quarter is concentrated in Northwestern Iran or

. The majority of Armenians live in the suburbs of Tehran, most notably Narmak, Majidiyeh, Nadershah, etc.

Diplomacy

;Armenia *

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

(Embassy) ;Iran *

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

(Embassy) *

Kapan Kapan ( ) is a town in southeast Armenia, serving as the administrative centre of the Kapan Municipality and also as the provincial capital of Syunik Province. It is located in the valley of the Voghji (river), Voghji River and is on the norther ...

(Consulate-General)

References

Sources

* *

External links

Embassy of Armenia to Iran

Embassy of Iran to Armenia

ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. History, discussion, and the presentation of Iranian influences in Armenian Language over the millennia

Series of several large articles that cover thousands of years of Iranian-Armenian relations in pre-modern times

ARMENIA AND IRAN vi. Armeno-Iranian relations in the Islamic period
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenia-Iran relations Bilateral relations of Iran