Tbilisi, Georgia – Azerbaijan accused Iran of targeting the Nakhchivan airport with a drone strike that injured four civilians on Thursday, March 5.
According to a statement released by Azerbaijani authorities, one drone struck the airport near the Iranian border, while another fell close to a school in a nearby village.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense said it “strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against civilian infrastructure.”
“These acts of aggression will not remain unanswered”, it warned.
Iranian authorities have denied any connection to the drone strike.
The incident took place at around midday some ten kilometres from the Iranian border in the Nakhchivan autonomous exclave, a region geographically separated from the rest of Azerbaijan.
Video verified by Reuters shows a plume of black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the terminal building.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest and that it had demanded an explanation and investigation into the incident.
Later on Thursday, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev described the strike as a “groundless act of terror and aggression” and said that the military was preparing a response.
The strike risks pulling another country into the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran, which has escalated rapidly since Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike on Saturday, February 28.
Iran and Azerbaijan have long had strained relations, although they had shown signs of improvement in recent years. President Aliyev was among the few world leaders to express his condolences after the Iranian leader’s death.
However, Tehran has been growing increasingly wary about Azerbaijan’s deepening relationship with Israel and the U.S.
Baku has been developing closer economic and military ties with Israel, whilst the U.S. has considerably expanded its influence in the south Caucasus region. U.S. President Trump was instrumental in negotiating a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia and hosted the leaders of both countries at the White House last summer.
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The incident comes after NATO forces shot down a missile fired from Iran towards Azerbaijan’s close ally, Turkey earlier this week. Iranian authorities have denied targeting Turkey and insisted they respect the country’s sovereignty.
Featured image: Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Author: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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