Hovik & Asbed - Karekin II & Ilia II Funeral, Iran War, Armenia Elections | Ep 527, Mar 22, 2026

Episode Summary

This Week in Review featured Asbed and Hovik without a guest. We discussed the death of Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and the Armenian government’s blocking of Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II from attending the funeral; the latest turn in the Iran war and what it could mean for Armenia and the wider region; Israel’s renewed ground operation in southern Lebanon; and Armenia’s June elections, including political prisoners, media freedom, Civil Contract’s campaign tactics, the opposition field, EU involvement, and Strong Armenia’s messaging on TRIPP and security.

📄 View Episode 527 Notes
Categories: Iran, Armenia, Politics
Tags: Armenian News, Hovik Manucharyan, Asbed Bedrossian, Iran, Iran War, Israel, USA, Donald Trump, Turkey, Russia, China, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Oil Prices, Petrol, New Atlas, Brian Berletic, Scott Horton, Varuzhan Geghamyan, Eldar Mamedov, IRGC, Mojtaba Khamenei, Hardliners, BTC Pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Georgia, Ilia II, Karekin II, Catholicos, Mikayel Ajapahyan, Bagrat Galstanyan, Narek Samsonyan, Vazgen Saghatelyan, Civil Contract, Strong Armenia, Hayastan Dashinq, Samvel Karapetyan, Robert Kocharyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Narek Karapetyan