Ever since the sudden eruption of tensions between Tehran and Baku, many pundits and officials in Iran warned about the malign influence of foreigners on the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In the beginning, it was “third-parties” but as Azeri officials went further in their hostile statements against Iran, it became clear what third-parties exactly means. Initially, Iranian officials sought to defuse tensions with Baku through diplomatic channels, the favorite way of Iran in addressing misunderstandings with Azerbaijan.

To this end, Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Seyed Abbas Mousavi held several rounds of talks with Azeri officials in Baku in a bid to de-escalate tensions. But the Azeris took a step further and brought the spat to the media. In the meantime, several Azeri lawmakers made provocative remarks against Iran.

Again, Iranian officialdom avoided a war of words. Instead, some Iranian lawmakers responded to their Azeri counterparts.

But when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev jumped in, Iran found itself in a position to respond to Azeri provocations. But even when Iran decided to respond, it did so quite diplomatically.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian spoke over the phone with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. During the conversation, the chief Iranian diplomat underlined the need for mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries and stressed that Iran and Azerbaijan must prevent misunderstandings in their relations and it is worthwhile to continue their ties in the right and growing direction quickly.

Meanwhile, many Iranian commentators and officials politely warned that tensions between Baku and Tehran could only serve the interests of Israel, which seeks to turn Azerbaijan into a forward base for its malign activities against Iran.

In fact, some Iranians blame the whole episode on Israel’s provocations. Abdollahian told Bayramov that Tehran and Baku have enemies and the two sides should not give the enemies the opportunity to disrupt relations between the two countries.

Aliyev continued to make controversial remarks against Iran despite Iranian warnings that Israel stands behind the tensions. Tragically, the Azeri president even moved to vindicate Israel while continuing his hostile remarks against Iran.

In the lasted move, he accused Iran of collaborating with Armenia in drug trafficking via Nagorno-Karabakh territories when they were under Armenian occupation, an accusation that drew a strong response from Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh strongly rejected the “astonishing” new allegations made by Aliyev against Iran at the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, calling them fabricated.

Again, Iran warned of an Israeli role in the drama. Khatibzadeh said such media accusations are only in the interests of the Zionist regime to affect the brotherly relations between the two nations of Iran and Azerbaijan.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani implicitly reiterated the same warning. Writing on Twitter, Shamkhani described as “false” Aliyev’s allegation on Iran’s involvement in drug trafficking.

“Ignoring the neighborhood principles & making false statements can’t be a sign of a tact. Accusation against a country that the world recognizes as a hero in the fight against drugs has no effect other than invalidating the speaker’s words. Beware of the devil’s costly traps,” he tweeted.

So far, Iran has sought to brotherly resolve the dispute which lasted more than expected. But it seems that there are invisible hands prodding Aliyev into prolonging his war of words against Iran. But why?

A Russian expert says Baku is escalating tensions with Iran in a bid to ramp up pressure on it as part of the West’s pressure campaign on Tehran to resume the stalled Vienna nuclear talks over the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The expert, Dmitry Solonnikov, who is the director of the Institute of Contemporary Development in Russia, put the Baku-Tehran tensions into the broader context of the current state of play between Iran and the West.

“If there was no statement that Iran is about to build an atomic bomb…, then this confrontation between Azerbaijan and Iran would not have taken place now,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

If true, this assessment proves that Aliyev is dragging his country into an ill-advised confrontation that will cost his country dearly.

The post Deciphering Azerbaijani president’s provocations against Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh strongly rejected the astonishing new allegations made by the Republic of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev against the Islamic Republic of Iran at the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, calling them fabricated, the Iranian foreign ministry said.

Khatibzadeh said such media accusations are only in the interests of the Zionist regime to affect the brotherly relations between the two nations of Iran and Azerbaijan.

Emphasizing the leading role of Iran in the fight against drug trafficking, Khatibzadeh stressed that thousands of martyrs and wounded Iranians during the past four decades in the fight against this ominous phenomenon is just a part of the committed and continuous efforts of the Islamic Republic on this path which have been approved by relevant international institutions over and over again.

While emphasizing the strong brotherly relations between the two nations, Khatibzadeh said, unfortunately, it seems that despite the private and positive messages received from Baku in different calls, there is an intention on the part of Baku to make baseless media statements, which, of course, will be answered in due manner.

The Azeri president has accused Iran of aiding Armenia in drug trafficking. In addition, he also went so far as to accuse Iran of playing a role on destroying Shusha city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region when it was under Armenia occupation.

“In the city of Shusha, Armenia has destroyed 16 out of 17 mosques that existed there before the occupation. One mosque was left to demonstrate ‘tolerance’, and there was an attempt to portray it as Persian with complicity from so-called specialists from Iran,” Aliyev claimed.

He added, “Houses and public buildings were taken down brick by brick and sold to Armenia and Iran…. Also, immense damages have been caused to the nature. About 60,000 hectares of forests have been cut down, sawn and sold to Armenia and Iran.”

Iran has strongly rejected the Azerbaijani allegations that it sided with Armenia during the wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran says it supported Baku in its efforts to liberate its occupied territories.

The remarks came against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Tehran and Baku. The episode began in early August when social media users in Iran reported mistreatment of Iranian truck drivers by Azerbaijani forces along the Goris-Kapan Highway which links Iran to Armenia through the newly-liberated Karabakh region. The Iranian trucks were carrying Armenia-bound goods from Iran but due to the change in Karabakh’s borders during a 2020 war had to pass through a road curve into Azerbaijan’s territory.

Azerbaijan also reportedly imposed a staggering tax on Iranian commercial trucks which drew criticism from Iranian merchants.

“Beware of the devil’s costly traps”

Since then, tensions have been on the rise between the two neighbors. On Friday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani warned about the “costly traps” that could be set for Baku.

“Ignoring the neighborhood principles & making false statements can’t be a sign of a tact. Accusation against a country that the world recognizes as a hero in the fight against drugs has no effect other than invalidating the speaker’s words. Beware of the devil’s costly traps,” Shamkhani said on Twitter.

Last week, the foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan held a telephone conversation to defuse tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov have discussed the latest developments in bilateral relations in a telephone conversation.

While emphasizing the need for mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, Abdollahian added that Tehran and Baku have a long-standing relationship with each other.

He stressed that the two countries must prevent misunderstandings in their relations and it is worthwhile to continue their ties in the right and growing direction quickly.

Abdollahian also said Tehran expects that the problem of transit traffic of Iranian trucks in the Azerbaijan Republic will be solved, the Iranian foreign ministry said.

The foreign minister spoke of the depth of relations between the two nations. He said Tehran and Baku have enemies and the two sides should not give the enemies the opportunity to disrupt relations between the two countries and concerns should be allayed through dialogue and cooperation.

The Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also called relations with Iran friendly and added that ties with friendly countries are a priority for the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He emphasized the need to resolve the differences through dialogue and in a calm and sincere atmosphere. Jeyhun Bayramov suggested that the two countries’ customs officials hold talks to solve the problem of the transit of Iranian goods.

He stressed the pursuit of the release of two Iranian truck drivers detained in the Azerbaijan Republic.

The foreign ministers of the two countries invited each other to visit Tehran and Baku.

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