US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "Iran is a troublemaker in the international system, a central banker of terrorism.”

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran “would not give a damn” about UN resolutions that could penalize Tehran.

“Born again” Christian, George W. Bush thinks Iran is the “axis of evil”.

Muslim fundamentalist and suspected terrorist (Beirut, 1983) Ahmadinejad thinks Bush is an infidel.

“Currently intensive negotiations are being held between Baku and Washington regarding the degree of Azerbaijan’s participation in the possible war,” expert of the Caucasian Institute of Democracy Sergey Shakaryants says. “Unofficial sources in Iran testify that despite pacifist statements of Ilham Aliyev, Baku indeed is making an arrangement with Washington regarding the provision of its territory for temporary military bases.”

According to the Embassy of Iran in Armenia, one transport truck from Iran crosses into Armenia every 16 minutes. The bridge itself was built in 1994-1995 and had a great significance for maintaining Armenia in the harshest years of blockade and energy shortage.

When assessing American expectations of Armenia’s possible role in the event of a conflict with Iran, an important distinction must be considered. In practical terms, the US is already in conflict with Iran. The question of American expectations of Armenian policy, therefore, consists of two separate issues:

First: Armenian policies regarding Iran currently, in recognition of the current conflict between Washington and Tehran, and

Second: Possible Armenian policies in the event of an actual military confrontation.

Even though overland trade between Iran and Armenia has been steadily decreasing since 2000, Iran remains Armenia’s second largest trade partner – primarily because it is one of only two neighbors whose borders are open to Armenia.

Analyst Yervand Bozoyan says that the current Iranian crisis and Iran’s nuclear weapon programs and aggressive rhetoric are the result of U.S. policies.

That could change.

The tiny country nobody notices could find a place on the map for reasons other than disaster, papal visits, or attempted revolutions, should Washington’s crosshairs on Tehran include a radial view of the neighborhood.

Just as Europe, North America and, certainly, the Middle East, has ratcheted up the rhetoric on possible military action in Iran, so has it become the topic of conversation among some in Armenia – and a matter of considerable concern for some 4-5,000 Iranians living here.

The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1993 Azebaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined the Treaty which was renewable after five years. In 1999, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan did not renew their agreement.