Tehran-Baku confrontation enters a new phase
Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have entered a new phase of diplomatic confrontation after an Iranian man whose wife had left him for Baku entered the Azerbaijan Embassy in Tehran and opened fire, killing a security guard and wounding two others.
Baku shut down its embassy in Tehran and Ali Alizada, the Azeri envoy left Tehran. Iran offered Azerbaijan to participate in a joint investigation regarding the matter, but the Azeris did not respond positively to this gesture that was made out of goodwill.
The most recent development occurred when Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats on Thursday over “provocative actions” in the latest signs of deterioration of relations between the neighbors.
The move came hours after Baku said it arrested six men, who, it claimed, were linked to the Iranian secret service and were plotting a coup in the Caspian nation. Azerbaijan said the diplomats were “persona non grata”. Azerbaijani media reported that the action was notified to Abbas Mousavi, Iran’s envoy to the Republic of Azerbaijan on Tuesday, when he was summoned to the Azeri Foreign Ministry.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Friday responded to Azerbaijan’s hostile action, saying “Iran has diplomatic countermeasures on the agenda.”
“We consider the behavior of the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan to be in conflict with the principles of good neighborliness,” he added.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman called on the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan to “maintain mutual respect, take steps in the direction of good neighborliness and stay away from what the Zionists and enemies of the region want.”
Kanaani emphasized, “The Islamic Republic of Iran, at the same time, emphasizes the observance of the principles and foundations of the good neighborliness policy and paying attention to the sinister goals of the Zionist regime in creating differences and tensions in relations between Islamic countries.”
Continuing its unconstructive actions, Baku’s National Assembly, in a statement, asked Iran to refrain from “biased actions” against the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to Trend news agency, the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in its statement, called the statement of the Iranian Parliament regarding the opening of the embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tel Aviv as “interference in internal affairs and another politically provocative action” against Baku.
Azerbaijan’s Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova claimed on Friday that Baku wants Tehran to refrain from actions that harm bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, without referring to Baku’s recent anti-Iran stances. In the end, she claimed that “in some countries, special forces are trying to incite conflict in the region and thwart efforts to establish long-term peace between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
The move was carried out in an atmosphere in which, following the recent visit of Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister to Tel Aviv, the anti-Iran statements and positions of the Republic of Azerbaijan have intensified.
Last week, Leyla Abdullayeva, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dodged questions on the agreement between Baku and Tel Aviv on the formation of a “united front against Iran”. Instead, she chose to say, in a baseless claim, that Iran was involved in the assassination of an Azeri MP.
The comment was followed by a reaction from Kanaani, who referred to the evasion of the authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan to provide an explanation about the agreement with Israel.
“We advise our Muslim brothers and sisters in the Republic of Azerbaijan to be alert to the real intentions of the Zionist enemy,” he said.
The possibility of a military confrontation cannot be neglected, as Baku began a military drill on Thursday. The military personnel of mechanized units carried out practical training exercises on driving and fire training, the country’s Defense Ministry told News.Az. The exercise was conducted in areas of Nakhchivan, near Iran’s border. Baku also conducted a naval drill in the Caspian Sea this week.
Iranian officials are committed to diplomacy in order to put out the existing fire between Iran and Azerbaijan, but it is Baku that is trying its best not to de-escalate.