Iranian fighter jet violated Azerbaijan's state border, Iranian ambassador summoned to MFA

Baku/11.03.23/Turan: On Saturday, an Iranian Air Force aircraft flew along the Azerbaijani-Iranian state border from 09:44 to 10:26. He flew 3-5 km from the state border along the Zangilan region in the direction of the Bilasuvar region of Azerbaijan and back.

In some places, he flew over the state border. This is stated in a joint statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan dated March 11.

“Such an approach of a military aircraft of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the state border between the two countries and a flight over the border line, contrary to the internationally accepted practice of early warning a neighboring state of the approach of military aircraft to the state border, pose a threat to the security of civil aviation and serve to further aggravate bilateral relations.

More than half an hour flight of a military aircraft near the liberated territories of Azerbaijan is a provocation and unfriendly behavior towards Azerbaijan.

We would like to remind you that the Iranian side also conducted large-scale military exercises along the Araz River near the borders with Azerbaijan last year.

We resolutely condemn the Iranian side for such a provocative step, and urge them to provide appropriate explanations and refrain from such provocative actions in the future.

On March 11, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Seyid Abbas Mousavi, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and he was given a note of protest,” the statement says. 

The Iranian Air Force has repeatedly violated the airspace of Azerbaijan in the past

In 2002, Iranian fighter jets repeatedly violated the air border of Azerbaijan in the south of the Caspian Sea. They flew to the Alov offshore oil field (about 180 km south-east of Baku), they turned back.

On May 29, 2003, at 12:00, the Air Defense Forces (Air Defense) and the Air Force (Air Force) of Azerbaijan were put on alert in connection with the violation of the air borders of Azerbaijan by an Iranian aircraft. As the Turan news agency has learned from informed military sources, an Iranian plane violated the border of Azerbaijan over the Caspian Sea.

On September 18, 2004, two fighters of the Iranian Air Force violated the Azerbaijani border in the Caspian Sea, the commander of the Azerbaijani border troops Elchin Guliyev said. According to him, Iranian planes flew into the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in the morning of September 18 and continued flying towards Baku for several minutes, "but after the measures taken, the violators turned back," Guliyev said.

On October 21, 2008, the Iranian media reported on the holding of large-scale exercises of the air force near the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the newspaper Maariv reports. The purpose of the military exercises was to practice an "air strike on Israel."---0--