Iranian-Armenian relations

[Armanen]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Unless Armenians start to confront Armenians like Tigranakert who live in a perpetual kidulthood, Armenia has no future.

Persepolis - you think you can big yourself up by copypasting stuff from here and there and everywhere (with the usual Iranian disregard for copyright laws, btw). But quantity, as your posts prove, does not equal quality. However, the proof of your looser status is your innocent cozying up to Armenians. We know how that will end - it will end in failure for you because it is not possible to cozy up to Armenians: as the Aesop fable says, where the scorpion said to the frog after stinging it midstream and assuring their mutual demise - "it's in my nature". Don't let Armenians close enough to sting you - no matter how friendly they at first appear, they will, in the end, try to sting you - even if it means harming themselves more than it harms you.

Another topic hijacked by bell.


Persopolis, please continue to post your informative commentaries. This is one of my favorites threads.

[Persopolis]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Headlines & Stories:

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan discusses energy/business cooperation with Iran.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/economy/interview/65515/

The Nowruz trip by, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan focussed on further economic cooperation and with a main focus on the Iran-Armenia Railway project.

http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/2327_march_30_2011/2327_econ_three.html

Tehran Allocates $60 Million for Iran-Armenia highway (pictures)

http://asbarez.com/94027/tehran-allocates-60-million-for-iran-armenia-highway/

Discussion of U.S. efforts to involve itself in the NK dispute to get a foothold in the region. (My opinion = a very bad idea for Armenia, see Georgia/Russian war). The region is important to the U.S. because Georgia and Russia to the north, Turkey to the west and Iran to the south. (My opinion = don't become pawns of the U.S. government.)

http://nationalinterest.org/commenta...-it-again-5087

Armenia is connected with Internet via Georgia and Iran.

http://www.arka.am/eng/informtech/2011/03/29/24871.html

* * * Excerpt * * *

How can you explain that the U.S. are not so active in the South Caucasus as it used to be?

Simple. It has so many irons in the fire (to use an American expression) that is overwhelmed. Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, and the rest of the Middle East.

Russia after war with Georgia has been playing very active role as a mediator in the Karabakh settlement. How can you explain Russian policy in the region?

Russians want to maximize their influence in their so-called "sphere of influence".

Do you think that Azerbaijan has done enough to gain international support of its territorial integrity and international community recognize Karabakh as occupied Azeri land or there is a need of additional efforts in that direction?

No. The average American couldn't find it on a map if their life depended on it. It is far down the list of priorities inside the USG.

What could be a reaction of international community if Azerbaijan begin a war with Armenia after all these lasting tensions in the Karabakh conflict zone?

My guess, and it is just that, is that you would hear someone in State comment privately thus, "Oh sh.., another war we don't need. There would be verbal condemnation, but the US is too tied up elsewhere to worry about this piece of land right now.

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/33300

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Armenia: Iranian Tourists Let Loose in Yerevan for Novruz
April 1, 2011 - 12:42pm, by Gayane Abrahamyan

Armenia’s civil rights record isn’t exactly unblemished, but to thousands of Iranians eager to hear pop singers banned in Iran, the conservative South Caucasus country still ranks as a land of liberty.

Israeli singer Ishtar Alabina, sometimes described as “the Queen of the Middle East,” proved to be a mega-attraction in the line-up of privately sponsored concerts staged in Yerevan during Novruz, the 13-day Persian New Year celebration, which started on March 20. Joined by Armenian fans, thousands of Iranians at her March 30 concert waved the Iranian flag and sang along to the 42-year-old performer’s pulsing songs in Arabic, French and Hebrew.

“This was a huge surprise!” said 36-year-old Iranian engineer Fehdat Jafargholi, who traveled to Armenia from Tabriz with his wife and five-year-old daughter to celebrate Novruz. “Naturally, Alabina’s concerts cannot be held in Iran. Pop music performances are forbidden in our country, and this was a great gift to us for Novruz.”

Jafargholi, like other Iranians interviewed for this article, claimed not to know that Alabina, who sings mostly in Arabic, is from Israel, enemy number one for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration in Iran.

Over the past two weeks, to commemorate the Persian New Year, Yerevan concert halls have offered up an array of banned Iranian music, with performances by Iranian pop singers Andy, Leila, Pouva, Kouros and Sepideh. Restaurants and clubs in Yerevan now offer menus in Farsi, while Iranian and Arab music plays in the background. “We look forward to these concerts the whole year, and only during these days and only outside our country do we get a chance to enjoy them,” said Fatima Djavadi, a teacher from Tehran.

Such events, though, are not a sudden manifestation of multiculturalism. The large number of Iranian visitors to Yerevan, a city of just under 1.1 million people, nearly requires that local businesses cater to the tourists’ tastes.

Although data does not yet exist for the Novruz tourist season, Armenia’s Ministry of Economic Development claimed the number of Iranian visitors to Armenia so far in 2011 was running 40 percent ahead of the total for the same period in 2010. The total number of Iranians who crossed into Armenia in 2010 (120,000) was nearly 30 percent higher than in the previous year.

“It’s very easy for them to come, and they enjoy an unmatched freedom here, get an opportunity to watch their favorite singers perform live, and, in general, have a good time,” said Mekhat Apressian, head of the Ministry of Economy’s Tourism Department.

Hotel managers and apartment owners, in particular, have benefited. Four of Yerevan’s mid-range and high-end hotels (Erebuni, Golden Tulip, Ani and Europa) have been booked solid since early February. On average, rents for downtown studio apartments increased by 40-50 percent to $50-$100 per night, Yerevan real estate agencies said.

But not all Armenians welcomed their Iranian neighbors with open arms. Yerevan’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Nerses Nazarian, said that some “minor brawls” between Iranians and Armenians, “caused by an atmosphere of intolerance,” had been recorded by police. Larger disturbances have not been reported, he added.

Yerevan State University Professor of Psychology Mariam Soghomonian attributed such incidences to “Armenia’s “mono-ethnic” society, which means that “if there are no vacant places at restaurants and shops get crowded because of [foreign] visitors, [Armenians] get annoyed.”

Overall, though, Armenia’s economy has reason to welcome the influx of Iranian visitors; the tourism department estimates that Armenian businesses overall will take in some $25 million from Iranian tourists during the 13-day celebration of Novruz.

Some Iranian tourists say that the relatively low cost of hotels and food in Armenia compared with Turkey and Dubai, both more popular Novruz destinations, prompted them to opt for Yerevan.

“Armenia is much closer, we can travel by car, and, besides, the city seems somehow dearer to us. We have co-existed with Armenians for ages and understand each other better,” said 45-year-old professor of mathematics and engineering Marizeh Saberi. Diaspora organizations estimate that some 70,000 to 90,000 ethnic Armenians live in Iran.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, meanwhile, on March 24-27 commemorated Novruz in Tehran, at the invitation of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who stressed that the Iranian government “has placed no limits on the development of cooperation with Yerevan,” Armenian news agencies reported. The two countries already share several multi-million-dollar energy and transportation projects.

Editor's note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com in Yerevan. Gohar Abrahamyan contributed reporting to this story.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63207

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I thought this was interesting - comes to show America's intentions:

«Pia.az»: Azerbaijani language learners of American officers are preparing for operations against Iran
U.S. sees Azerbaijan as a possible field of hostilities, the website of «Pia.az». Individual service member, the student Azerbaijani language in the Air Force USA, pay extra $ 500, and this program is not for interpreters and scouts.

About this American media reported responsible for the implementation of the program language and cross-cultural training of U.S. Air Force Paul Valenzuela. According to him, the Pentagon concluded that the ability of the military to communicate with the residents of the country where the military operation that depends directly on its success. Air Force program affects more than 100 foreign language.

It is assumed that U.S. officers studying the Azerbaijani language will be required to serve in the Azerbaijani army on the basis of collusion between the official Baku and Washington. It is not excluded that these officers will be primarily used in military operations against Iran.

/ Panorama.am /

[Persopolis]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

America works off of hollow slogans "freedom," "democracy," etc. But the truth is that US involvement in the caucus region will simply involve another self-interested large state and likely cause a conflict like that in the Georgia vs. Russia war.

America's true face is here: The 2 Persians (on the left) talk about the reality of civil rights in America.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Some Iranian tourists say that the relatively low cost of hotels and food in Armenia compared with Turkey and Dubai, both more popular Novruz destinations, prompted them to opt for Yerevan.

That means they are coming for other reasons, reasons they don't want to admit to publicly. Hotels in Armenia are about two to three times more expensive than in Turkey.

[Armanen]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

That means they are coming for other reasons, reasons they don't want to admit to publicly. Hotels in Armenia are about two to three times more expensive than in Turkey.

Hotels in istanbul are more expensive than those in Yerevan. If you mean hotels in antalya, then maybe, but if they wanted 'fun in the sun' and to be near the beach they also would not have come to Armenia.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

That means they are coming for other reasons, reasons they don't want to admit to publicly. Hotels in Armenia are about two to three times more expensive than in Turkey.

They come for the shows...

[Armanen]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Is that the Iranian 'lady gaga'?

[Joseph]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Hotels in istanbul are more expensive than those in Yerevan. If you mean hotels in antalya, then maybe, but if they wanted 'fun in the sun' and to be near the beach they also would not have come to Armenia.

Hotels in Istanbul are more expensive that Yerevan. Antalya hotels are seasonal. Very few people would travel to the coast until the weather gets warmer. While some Iranians might come to Yerevan to party, many families come as well for an unrestrained and free atmosphere.