Raeisi made the remarks in separate meetings with visiting Armenian and Azerbaijani officials amid persisting tensions over the Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan took full control of the breakaway region last month following a 24-hour military operation against pro-Armenian forces.
Now speculation is rife that Azerbaijan might use force to open a corridor connecting the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to mainland Azerbaijan through the southern Armenian province of Syunik.
Armenia opposes the plan on the grounds that it would violate its sovereignty. Iran has supported Armenia’s position, stressing that the territorial integrity of countries must be respected.
Raeisi argued the Zangezur Corridor allows external powers to make inroads into the region and undermine interests of nations there.
“In both meetings, the president stated that a Zangezur corridor would be a NATO foothold, a national security threat for countries, and is thus resolutely opposed by Iran,” said Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, in a post on X social media network, formerly known as Twitter.
A readout by the website of the presidential office said Raeisi also told the two officials that Iran believes the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia must be resolved through talks.
He said Iran is ready to help pave the way for the settlement of disputes between the two countries and promote peace in the region.
Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia’s Supreme National Security Council, hailed Iran’s call for respecting the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region, and said his country attaches special importance to its relations with Iran.
Khalaf Khalafov, the representative of Azerbaijan’s president on special assignments, said Baku believes problems in the region must be settled through cooperation and dialogue between regional countries, and that other countries should not be allowed to make inroads into the region.
MNA/PressTV
