Iran is openly opposed to the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project, The Hill writes.

The trade corridor, leased to the US for 99 years, will pass through Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan, and opening a gateway for Turkey and then Europe, bypassing Iran and Russia. Tehran fears that this corridor will strengthen the West’s and Turkey’s positions in the region while cutting Iran off from Armenia, The Hill added.

The announcement of this corridor has caused discontent in Russia, too, the Hill noted. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has considered the former Soviet republics in the Caucasus part of its sphere of influence. According to The Hill, throughout the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia has acted as an unscrupulous mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the deployment of hundreds of Russian troops as part of a peacekeeping mission has effectively frozen the conflict on Russia’s terms.

When Azerbaijan launched a military operation in Karabakh in 2023, Russian peacekeepers did not intervene. Now, as Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran and Russia are starting to deteriorate, this could be an opportunity for Baku and Washington to strengthen their defense, energy, and trade ties, The Hill notes.

And the US could benefit from expanding its partnership in the South Caucasus, The Hill stated. It would also strengthen Azerbaijan’s economic ties with the US and the West as the country seeks to distance itself from Iran and Russia. Closer cooperation with the US would boost Azerbaijan’s economy through the benefits of US President Donald Trump’s planned trade corridor. At the same time, closer ties between the US and Azerbaijan would weaken Iran’s and Russia’s positions in the region, The Hill concluded.