Azerbaijani president says Iran carried out 'terrorist act' against the country
Azerbaijan threatens Iran over drone attack
An emergency meeting of the Security Council of Azerbaijan was held on 5 March under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev after the territory of the autonomous Nakhchivan Republic came under a drone attack from Iran earlier in the day.
Speaking at the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev unequivocally stated that the attack on Nakhchivan had been carried out by Iran and that civilian facilities were targeted. He described the incident as a “vile terrorist act.”
The president stressed that Azerbaijan strongly condemns the incident and demands explanations, an apology and the punishment of those responsible from the Iranian side. He also announced that all of the country’s armed forces had been placed on full combat alert.
According to official information, one drone struck the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, while another fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad. Two civilians were injured there, bringing the total number of people wounded in the attack to four. Iran’s ambassador was summoned to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, and Baku said it reserves the right to carry out a retaliatory strike.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied the claims that the country had carried out strikes against Azerbaijan. “Iran strikes only military bases of its enemies, including the United States and Israel, which operate in the region and are used to attack Iran,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told the outlet AnewZ.
On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched large-scale missile strikes on military infrastructure and nuclear facilities in several Iranian cities. Iran responded by firing missiles at Israel and attacking US military bases in Gulf countries, with civilian facilities also reportedly hit.
Key takeaways from Aliyev’s address
● All of the country’s armed forces have been placed on mobilisation alert number one and are ready to carry out any operation.
● “The dishonourable people who carried out this terrorist act will regret it. The Azerbaijani people must be certain that any evil force will face our ‘iron fist’.”
● “Azerbaijan has not taken part and will not take part in operations against Iran, neither before nor now. This is our firm position. We are not interested in carrying out any operations against neighbouring countries, and our policy does not allow it.”
● “Iran cowardly and treacherously shelled Nakhchivan International Airport, the terminal building, a school and other locations. Azerbaijan strongly condemns this vile terrorist act. Those responsible must be brought to justice immediately. Iranian officials must provide explanations, apologise to the Azerbaijani side, and those who carried out this terrorist act must face criminal punishment.”
● “This is not the first time Iran has carried out terrorist acts against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. Some time ago, the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran was attacked in a terrorist act. The person who attacked the embassy acted on the instructions of Iranian special services. As a result, one citizen was killed and another was seriously wounded.
Even then we had no doubt that this was carried out by the Iranian state. The attack both inside and around the embassy lasted about 40 minutes. During those 40 minutes, not a single security or police officer approached the embassy. It is clear that this terrorist act was ordered at the highest levels of Iran’s state structures with the aim of intimidating Azerbaijan and carrying out dirty acts against it. […]
Iran was forced to apologise and acknowledge its guilt. For a long time they showed no interest in enforcing punishment and tried to save the criminal, but they were eventually forced to execute the terrorist in the presence of Azerbaijani representatives. This time the response will be the same.”
● “Besides other dirty factors, this is also an example of great ingratitude. As soon as events unfolded in Iran, the foreign minister, on my instruction, spoke with his counterpart. I personally visited their embassy to express condolences and state our position. Apart from me, no head of state visited any Iranian embassy. To underestimate this, to downplay what happened and behave like base and ungrateful people does no one any honour.”
● “The Iranian deputy foreign minister called Baku and asked Azerbaijan to help evacuate staff from the Iranian embassy who remained in Lebanon, as they had no possibility of doing so themselves. I immediately instructed that assistance be provided and that a plane be sent. They said they were ready to pay for everything. I said that was not necessary – if we do not help now, at such a difficult time, when should we? And in return they delivered such a dirty, treacherous and cowardly strike against Nakhchivan. This stain will never be erased from their ugly faces.”
International reaction
Countries around the world and international organisations have strongly condemned the Iranian drone attacks on Azerbaijan and expressed support for the authorities in Baku. Those issuing statements included Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Israel, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Albania, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Montenegro, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Syria.
Special statements were also made by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Turkic States, the European Union ambassador to Azerbaijan, the UN representation in Azerbaijan and the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
All of the statements described the Iranian drone strikes on Azerbaijani territory as a dangerous escalation, a gross violation of state sovereignty and a direct threat to regional security and stability.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called on the international community to recognise Iran as a terrorist state. “It is not enough simply to distance ourselves from this regime, which repeatedly exports violence and intimidation beyond its borders. We must reach a consensus on what it really is — a terrorist state,” Rama wrote on social media, stressing that Albania firmly supports Azerbaijan, its leadership and its people.
