Iran’s media has begun to up the rhetoric against Azerbaijan, with a headline claiming that Baku has “denied the presence of the Zionist regime near the border with Iran,” a claim that appears to contrast with its insinuation that Israel’s close relationship with Azerbaijan is a threat to Tehran.
The larger context is that Iran has carried out military maneuvers near the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia and hosted an Armenian delegation, signaling its commitment to a robust policy that wants the status quo maintained on the border.
What’s really going on here? A year ago, Azerbaijan launched a war against Armenian forces in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh. In Baku’s view, backed by Turkey, the Armenians had for too long dominated disputed areas that they captured in the 1990s. In Armenian’s view, these were historical lands where Armenians lived and which the Soviet Union had arbitrarily made an autonomous part of the Azeri Soviet republic in the 20th century.
Regardless of who is correct in this dispute, it shares similarities to many others such as in Northern Cyprus, the West Bank and other places. What matters is that a rising and increasingly powerful Azerbaijan is asserting itself militarily.
Israel and Iran’s northern neighbor enjoy close relations and Baku has acquired a large number of Israeli-made drones in recent decades, becoming a pioneering drone power. Azerbaijan frequently shows off Israeli-made drones and boasts of their effectiveness. Recent videos posted online even appeared to show IAI Harop drones in launch formation on the back of trucks being toured by Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev, according to videos on Twitter.
Iran’s media claims the “Zionists” may be on Iran’s doorstep by working with Baku. But it also prints Azerbaijan’s denials. "Azerbaijan pursues an independent foreign policy and on this basis establishes relations with its neighbors and does not allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs," Aliyev said, according to Iran’s Fars News.
Tehran also wants to send a message to Baku that “we know what you are doing.” Iran has done this before, leaking information to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq so that those militias have blamed Azerbaijan for being the base for alleged drone attacks on pro-Iran militias in Iraq.
IRAN’S MEDIA printed on Tuesday a long list of comments from Azerbaijan. "We demand respect for our sovereign rights and non-interference in our internal affairs,” the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan stressed. “The charges against us must be formally substantiated. Let them come here and find a foreigner… They claim that Azerbaijan has opened the door to Israel in these areas… Where did they see Israel here?"
This illustrates that Tehran is continuing to message about tensions with Baku. Iran wants Azerbaijan to stress the friendship between the two countries. Iran’s media prints claims that they share a historic friendship. "We do not accept allegations of the presence of third countries or any country near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, or the provocative actions of such forces, because such views have no basis," a spokesman for Azerbaijan was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during the presentation of the new ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Iran’s credentials, stated that “we do not tolerate the active presence of the Zionist regime in Azerbaijan against Iran's security.”
Iran has also carried out a military drill near the border. The Foreign Affairs minister had recently stated regarding the Iranian exercises on the border that “such exercises inside Iran are within the framework of Iran's national sovereignty and clarified the Zionist regime's movements along the joint borders of Iran and Azerbaijan,” according to Fars News.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not tolerate the presence and activities of the Zionist regime against its national security and will take any necessary action in this regard,” Iran said.
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