New Iranian threat on the border with Azerbaijan

Iran has installed a new over-the-horizon (OTH) radar with an 800 km range in the highlands of Gilan Province to monitor the northern airspace of the country, adding it to the integrated air defense network,

Iranian publication İSW reported.

This Nazir radar, with its 800 km range, can detect targets at altitudes exceeding 30 km. It can identify various low radar cross-section targets, such as drones and cruise missiles.

With the Nazir radar in Gilan, the entire airspace over the Baku government, Armenia, large parts of eastern Turkey, most of Georgia, western Turkmenistan, part of southwestern Kazakhstan, and the Caspian Sea will be under Iran’s air defense surveillance.

«During the Israeli airstrikes on Iran on October 26, 2024, the Caspian Sea airspace was used—likely with cooperation from the Baku government—to target the Shahroud facilities. Now, with the Nazir radar operational in Gilan province, the skies over Baku and the Caspian Sea will be continuously monitored by Iran’s defense network, ready to counter any hostile movements», — says İSW.

It should be noted that the radar looks rather primitive in appearance.  However, it was installed not in western Iran, from where it would be easier to monitor Israel's actions, but near the town of Ardabil, on the very border with Azerbaijan.

This fact best explains the goals of Tehran, which makes no secret of its hostility to its northern neighbour, which it continues to call its "sincere friend and brother"