According to Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC), Iranian officials reported a disruption of automated control systems on the Iranian side of the sole border crossing between the two states. Officials at the Armenian checkpoint just outside the border town of Agarak suggested that their Iranian colleagues are coping with communication problems caused on the fifth day of the devastating war.
An Agarak resident who regularly travels to Iran told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that hundreds of people are massed on the Iranian side of the frontier. But so far there have been no signs of Iranian trying to flee to Armenia en masse.
According to Armenian news reports, many of the individuals who have crossed into the South Caucasus country in recent days are citizens of third countries. The Russian TASS news agency reported on Tuesday evening that 31 Russian nationals have left Iran through Armenia since the outbreak of the war on Saturday.
The Iranian ambassador in Yerevan, Khalil Shirgholami, gave the same “technical” reason for a 24-hour closure of the Armenian-Iranian border reported on Sunday and Monday.
The latest disruption also appeared to have significantly slowed Armenian-Iranian cargo traffic, causing a long line of mostly Iranian trucks on an Armenian highway leading to the border crossing. The SRC reported earlier this week that the war has not yet had a major impact on cargo shipments between the two states. Between 400 and 450 trucks crossed the border each day, according to the Armenian government agency.
Iran is a major trading partner of Armenia, with bilateral trading reaching almost $770 million last year. The Islamic Republic is also a key transit route for Armenia’s commercial operations with China and Gulf states.