The current escalation of tensions in Iran-Azerbaijan relations is unprecedented in the history of these two states in their modern form — the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The latter has not only initiated large-scale military exercises on the border, but also accompanied them with rhetoric that leaves no doubt as to whom they are directed against.
Moreover, the press, military leaders and even the top leadership of the neo-communist regime make it clear that this is not just a regular exercise but a preparation for war, and they are ready to start this war.
In this sense, the situation is similar to what happened a few months ago during similar exercises by Putin’s Russia on the borders with Ukraine, which were positioned as preparation for a large-scale invasion, and it took a phone call from Biden to Putin to announce that the «exercises were over.
We have written about this before, and now we have several statements from Iranian officials and the media (fully controlled by the regime in this country) to assess their intentions.
And if any of the readers do not understand what Israel and the Zionists have to do with it, we will explain later that the Iranian officials have decided to present their threats to Azerbaijan this time as a fight against «Zionist aggression».
Thus, the commander of the international terrorist organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tabriz, Hossein Purismail, threatened nothing less than the liquidation of Azerbaijan as a state: «Repeating Israel’s threats against Iran through the mouth of the Republic of Azerbaijan is not only not in Baku’s interest, but also threatens its own existence.»
While the Khomeinists only accidentally liquidated a few of their own trucks carrying military personnel during the exercises, the rhetoric itself is telling.
Another «open» activist, «IRI» parliament member Mahmoud Begash, also made threats, but revealed Tehran’s true intentions and fears by stating that this was not about mythical Zionism: «If Turkey’s adventure and Azerbaijan’s behavior continue, we will return Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh to their rightful owner — Iran.»
Iran’s actions are unlimited, considering that the unblocking of communications was one of the points of the peace agreements that ended the 44-day war, the first anniversary of which is being celebrated these days.
Armenia has been forced to do so, and moreover, representatives of its current leadership have repeatedly stated that it is in their interests to restore full economic relations in the region and to connect with the still-blockaded Armenia.
Recently, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly stated that he is ready to restore relations with Turkey and meet with Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Ilham Aliyev to discuss bilateral issues.
The Azerbaijani leader, in turn, has also spoken about his readiness to restore relations with Armenia, noting that for this it is necessary to sign a peace treaty between the two countries, which will recognize their internationally recognized borders.
Armenian ultra-nationalists are vehemently opposed to this, considering the current course of the Armenian government to be «treacherous».
But it is interesting that despite the support of the Armenian nationalist lobby, both in Russia and in the West, Armenia is not particularly interested in Armenia at the moment — they have their own problems, and therefore any attempts to resolve or at least freeze this conflict and start some interaction between the conflicting parties are perceived as normal.
In this regard, Iran, which gives the impression that it will not allow what it opposes but cannot prevent — the creation of the Zangezur corridor — comes into play as the main ally of the Armenian ultra-nationalists.
Moreover, under the pretext of protecting «Armenian Zangezur», Iran’s actions hinder the consolidation of internationally recognized borders.
After all, Nagorno-Karabakh is not occupied by Azerbaijan in violation of international law, which cannot be said about the ongoing occupation of a part of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh.
And Iran supports this occupation by making illegal supplies to this territory (good, though only civilian goods), ignoring the trilateral Russian-Azerbaijani-Armenian agreements, and undermining economic incentives for the peaceful reintegration of this territory into Azerbaijan.
Thus, the Iranian leadership is operating here from the positions of greater Armenian nationalists than the current Armenian leadership itself and even the majority of its people who gave them a mandate in the recent elections.
This not only shows blatant hostility towards Azerbaijan, Turkey and its Turkish population, but also does a disservice to Armenia and the Armenians themselves by inciting them to continue confrontation with their neighbors at a time when they are just beginning to realize the need for reconciliation with them.
In other words, it is not the West, not Russia, and not even Armenia itself, but Iran that is now becoming the main destructive factor in the South Caucasus.