Armenian News Network - Groong: Week In Review Podcast

Pashinyan vs. the Church, India Armenia, NGOs and Foreign Influence, Trump Corridor

Topics

• Pashinyan vs. The Armenian Church
• Indian-Armenian Relations
• NGOs and Foreign Influence
• U.S. Geopolitics and the Trump Corridor

Guest

• Christine Arakelian

Hosts

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 462 | Recorded: August 15, 2025

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Conversations on Groong - August 16, 2025

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with analyst Hamid Bahrami about Iran’s shifting role in the South Caucasus following the White House meeting between Trump, Pashinyan, and Aliyev that unveiled the TRIPP corridor, also known as the Trump Route. We examine how the project threatens to bypass and encircle Iran, potentially cutting it off from Russia and the Black Sea, while serving broader US and Israeli strategic aims. The discussion explores Iran’s decades of passivity in the region, its missed opportunities, and the wake-up call of the 44-day war, before turning to how Tehran might now defend its red lines through deeper cooperation with Russia, China, and Armenia. 

Topics:

• TRIPP Corridor & US Involvement
• US-Israel Strategy & War Risks
• Iran’s Missed Opportunities & Shifts
• Future of Iran–Armenia Relations

Hamid Bahrami’s article published by the Institute for Iran and Eurasia Studies (IRAS) in Iran: https://www.iras.ir/%D8%B2%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%8C-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%81%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%86 

Guest: Hamid Bahrami

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 461 | Recorded: August 13, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/461

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/lTYVEAuZ8fc

#ArmenianNews #Iran #Armenia #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor

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Armenia in the Crosshairs of US Geopolitical Winds

Conversations on Groong - Recorded: August 11, 2025

Topics

• US Geopolitics
• #Gaza, #Iran, #Russia, #Ukraine
• #DonaldTrump, #Pashinyan, #Aliyev meet in the #WhiteHouse

Guest

• Christine Arakelian
• Col. Douglas A. MacGregor

Hosts

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 460 | Recorded: August 11, 2025

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Trump, Aliyev, Pashinyan Oval Office Meeting and Reactions

Groong Week in Review - August 10, 2025

Topics

• Trump, Aliyev, Pashinyan Meeting
• Iranian Reaction
• Russian Reaction

Guest

• Amb. Dziunik Aghajanian

Hosts

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 459 | Recorded: August 11, 2025

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Conversations on Groong - August 9, 2025

In this episode, former U.S. Army officer and military-political analyst Stanislav Krapivnik discusses the geopolitical fallout from the Trump-Pashinyan-Aliyev summit in Washington, which saw the announcement of a "peace" framework, the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, U.S. plans for a 99-year "Trump Corridor" across Armenia, and the dropping of Section 907 to allow arms sales to Azerbaijan. He examines Russia's heavy focus on the Ukraine war at the expense of the South Caucasus, the loss of Russian leverage over Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the growing role of Turkey. Krapivnik warns of U.S. and British designs to destabilize the region, outlines possible Russian and Iranian responses, and explores the strategic importance of Georgia, the Abkhazia railway, and regional connectivity. The conversation also delves into Armenia's domestic political challenges, the influence of Western NGOs, and the erosion of core national institutions.

Topics:

• Trump, Pashinyan, Aliyev DC Summit
• Ukraine War and the Shifting World Order
• Russia and the South Caucasus

Guest: Stanislav Krapivnik

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 458 | Recorded: August 9, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/458

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/d37MqzjkV8A

#ArmenianNews #SouthCaucasus #Trump #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor #Russia

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Groong Week in Review - August 3, 2025

In Episode 457 of the Groong Podcast, we examine growing regional and domestic pressures on Armenia. From a U.S.-backed proposal to lease the Zangezur Corridor to Trump’s August 8 ultimatum for Russia to cease its war in Ukraine, the episode explores how shifting global power dynamics could impact Armenia’s sovereignty and economy. We also look at Azerbaijan’s expulsion of the ICRC and worsening conditions for Armenian POWs, the growing list of political prisoners in Armenia, and the suspicious conviction related to the death of Sona Mnatsakanyan. With mounting restrictions on Armenian exports to Russia and fires consuming cultural sites in Artsakh, the conversation considers whether Armenia’s leadership is responding effectively to the country’s mounting internal and external challenges.

Topics:

•   Trump Ultimatum to Putin
•   US Sanctions effect on Armenia
•   Turkey, US, and Armenia’s Territory
•   The Kitchen Sink

Guest: Benyamin Poghosyan

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 457 | Recorded: August 4, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/457

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/CehSMWvolf4

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Public Trust in Freefall, Church on the Rise, and Corridor Pressures Mount

Groong Week in Review - July 27, 2025

Topics

• Corridor Logic
• Crackdown Logic
• IRI Poll
• Russian in the South Caucasus

Guest

• Benyamin Poghosyan

Hosts

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 456 | Recorded: July 28, 2025

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• Artsakh Negotiations
• Armenian Domestic Politics

• Arthur Khachatryan

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 455 | Recorded: July 25, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/455

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Conversations on Groong - July 24, 2025

• EU Strategy in the South Caucasus
• Attacks on the National Church(es)
• 2025 Local Election Politics

• Archil Sikharulidze

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 454 | Recorded: July 22, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/454

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/r1tgtP-d0lE

#ArmenianNews #SouthCaucasus #Georgia #Armenia #EU

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Groong Week in Review - July 13, 2025

Topics

• Pashinyan meets Aliyev in Abu Dhabi
• Continued Persecution of Church and Opposition

Hosts

• Hovik Manucharyan 
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 453 | Recorded: July 13, 2025

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