Tehran-Baku ties should not affected by foreign interference: MP
By Sadeq Dehqan
Staff writer
An Iranian lawmaker said it is not appropriate for relations between Iran and Azerbaijan to be affected by the interference of the Israeli regime.
In an interview with Iran Daily, Ahmad Alireza Beigi said that the Israeli regime and its media have publicly announced that Azerbaijan has given territorial access to Israel to act against Iran.
It is not good for both neighbors that Israel makes such claims, the Iranian lawmaker said. Of course, we know that the regime aims to incur hostility between Iran and Azerbaijan by publicly making such claims, although our intelligence agencies are carefully monitoring the movements that are taking place on the other side.
Alireza Beigi, however, acknowledged that the Israeli regime has taken advantage of our failure to seriously and carefully expand our mutual cooperation with our neighboring countries. He said that we should not have given such an opportunity to the regime.
The Iranian lawmaker said that we consider Azerbaijani people as our relatives. Currently, many of the people in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province have many relatives in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Alireza Beigi referred to the proximity between the two nations, saying that it is partly due to the Shia culture in both countries.
He said that Tehran and Baku should make the most of this capacity of friendship as well as a common language for expansion of ties, especially economic ties. Alireza Beigi said that Iran has capabilities that can be shared with the people of Azerbaijan.
By improving the level of cooperation, both neighbors can bar foreigners from interfering in their relations, he said.
He also said that both countries should prioritize the establishment of security at their borders. He noted that we are not happy about what happened in relations between the two countries. An incident such as the attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran should not have occurred.