Pakistan, Aug. 10 -- Iran has threatened to block a planned transport corridor in the Caucasus, part of a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia brokered by US President Donald Trump. The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would run through southern Armenia, linking Azerbaijan directly to its Nakhchivan exclave and Turkey, with the US granted exclusive development rights. Iranian media quoted Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning the route would become a "graveyard for Trump's mercenaries" rather than a US-controlled passage.

Velayati's remarks came despite Iran's foreign ministry earlier calling the deal an "important step toward lasting peace," while cautioning agai...