TEHRAN - Bilateral trade between Iran and Armenia has reached nearly $1.0 billion, reflecting deepening economic ties between the two neighbors, according to Iran’s ambassador to Yerevan.

Speaking to Armenian state television, Ambassador Mehdi Sobhani said trade volume between the two countries has grown steadily and is now approaching the $1.0 billion mark.

Data from Armenia’s official statistics agency, Armstat, shows that bilateral trade reached $737.4 million in 2024, a 6.5 percent increase compared with 2023. Trade in the first five months of 2025 totaled $278.7 million, up four percent year-on-year.

Earlier this year, Sobhani said Tehran aims to boost annual trade with Yerevan to $1.0 billion by 2025, a goal that now appears within reach.

The ambassador also highlighted growing tourism flows between the two countries.

“In the first 11 months of last year, around 276,000 Armenian citizens visited Iran, while 176,000 Iranian tourists traveled to Armenia during the same period,” he said, calling the trend a “natural process” amid expanding ties.

In the first 11 months of 2024, the number of Iranian visitors to Armenia rose 20 percent compared with 2023, according to the Armenian Tourism Committee. Iranians accounted for eight percent of Armenia’s 691,900 tourist arrivals in the first five months of this year — the third-largest group after visitors from Russia (37 percent) and Georgia (15 percent).

Iran and Armenia have been strengthening energy, transport, and trade cooperation in recent years, with joint infrastructure projects including a nearly complete electricity transmission line and expanded border crossings. The two sides have also committed to removing obstacles to deeper integration, especially in light of Armenia's strategic shift toward alternative trade routes following tensions with Azerbaijan.

EF/MA