“The unilateral attack against Iran is deeply concerning,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Taking place ahead of the next round of [U.S.-Iranian] negotiations, it endangers the peace efforts as well as overall regional stability and global peace.”
“We condemn such action and call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and adherence to international law,” added the statement.
“What happened today is not only a threat to Iran or the Middle East but also a problem for Armenia,” Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, said for his part.
“This is an encroachment on Iran's territorial integrity, which will naturally have a negative impact on the region, and escalation will naturally not bring any benefit to the countries of the region. We hope that it will be possible to resolve the issue peacefully as soon as possible,” Grigorian added during a panel discussion in Yerevan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel launched the “preemptive” strikes “to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival” and prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. Among the sites hit were the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC's) command site and residential areas in Tehran and other cities, according to Iranian media.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will suffer severe consequences for launching the attacks.
"With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it," Khamenei said in a statement.
The escalation led to the cancellation of commercial flights between Yerevan and Tel-Aviv, Tehran and other destinations in the Middle East.
Many Armenian policymakers, politicians and pundits fear that a serious Israeli or U.S. military attack on Iran could have far-reaching consequences for Armenia’s own security. They regard Iran as a key deterrent against Azerbaijan’s implicit threats to open a land corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave as well as Turkey that would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has repeatedly warned against attempts to strip Iran of its common border with Armenia. Armenian and Iranian troops held a first-ever joint military exercise there in April.
Despite the geopolitical tensions and uncertainty brought about by the Israeli attacks, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian flew to the Czech Republic on Friday morning to take part in an international forum that will take place there.