Pashinyan criticized for delayed condolences over Khamenei killing

Political analyst Vahe Davtyan has criticized Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his delayed response to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, noting that Pashinyan only sent condolences several days after the event and did not visit the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan.

In a social media post, Davtyan contrasted Pashinyan’s response with that of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who, despite longstanding tensions with Iran, promptly visited the Iranian Embassy in Baku to express condolences to the Iranian people.

“Despite deep-rooted Iran-Azerbaijan disagreements and problems, the president of Azerbaijan visited the Iranian Embassy to extend condolences to the Iranian people,” Davtyan wrote.

He emphasized Armenia’s historically strong relationship with Iran, citing centuries-old friendship, shared civilizational ties, overlapping geostrategic interests and extensive economic and infrastructure cooperation.

“Nevertheless, the Armenian prime minister did not visit the Iranian Embassy in Armenia in recent days, sending condolences only several days after Khamenei's death. He should have been among the first to do so,” the analyst added.

Davtyan also noted that Iranian colleagues he consulted were “perplexed” by Yerevan’s delayed response.

Rejecting suggestions that the timing could be attributed to political calculation or pragmatism, Davtyan argued that the incident reflects an erosion of Armenia’s political independence and a diminished capacity for autonomous decision-making.