"Iran is the cause of tension"

On March 11, the Azerbaijani Defense and Foreign Ministries disseminated information that an Iranian military aircraft had flown along the state border. According to the official statement, the plane flew between the two countries 3-5 km from the state border, and in some cases completely over the state border. In addition, it was added that the international practice of prior notification of a neighboring State about the approach of military aircraft to the state border was not observed. After that, the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was handed a note of protest.

After that, the pro-government media of Azerbaijan reported that as a result of a special operation of law enforcement agencies, 32 people were detained in Azerbaijan who carried out acts of sabotage under the "veil of religion". Without specifying the source of the information, the media reported the names of the detainees. Photos of several of the above-mentioned persons were also attached to the message.

"These persons, posing as believers, conducted propaganda in favor of Iran on social networks, as well as in places of religious worship, at other ceremonies where people gather, abusing freedom of religion in Azerbaijan, conducted propaganda in favor of Iran, carried out tasks of the Iranian special services, with the aim of undermining the traditions of tolerance that have developed in Azerbaijan. Declaring the creation of the “Kerim” state, they made open calls for a violent change in the existing constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The investigation found that they spent large amounts of money received from the sale of narcotic drugs purposefully supplied from the Islamic Republic of Iran on the propaganda of religious radicalism and financing of other subversive activities in Azerbaijan," the report says without specifying the source.

According to the established tradition, the Azerbaijani side responds to the provocations of the Iranian side with mass arrests of believers, accusing them of spying for Iran.

Security expert Ilham Ismail talks about this issue with ASTNA.

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Question: The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that an Iranian military plane flew along the state border on March 11. In this regard, the Azerbaijani side gave Iran a note. Tehran also stated that the flight of fighter jets over the Azerbaijani border is normal. What do you think Iran is up to?

Answer: Iran's policy towards Azerbaijan since the first day of its independence has been biased at best, and hostile at worst. After Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War, Iran's policy towards our country is unequivocally hostile. All States perceive military exercises and maneuvers conducted along the border as exerting pressure and threats. States that have normal relations do not conduct such exercises, but if they do, in case of special need, the border State is notified in advance, brought to its attention that the exercise is exclusively educational in nature. Iran is a state that does not comply with these civilized norms, and last autumn, by conducting military exercises along the borders with Azerbaijan, it once again proved this.

Azerbaijan's note to Iran complies with international norms, but Iran's response, as always, is dismissive, contradicts diplomatic etiquette, and the purpose of this flight is to threaten Azerbaijan. Iran also violated Azerbaijan's airspace in 2000. The response to Iran at the request of Baku came from the "Turkish hawks". Iran is trying to put an end to the propaganda carried out by Azerbaijani media among our southern compatriots with such threats. Iran has always been close to Azerbaijan's enemy Armenia, it has provided and continues to provide it with gratuitous military, political, and economic assistance.

Question: Meanwhile, according to the pro-government media, as a result of special operational measures carried out by law enforcement officers, 32 people were identified and detained in Azerbaijan who carried out subversive and subversive actions under the guise of religion. They are accused of intending to create a "Kerim" state. Can this step be considered a response to Iran's provocations? Won't this step lead to an even greater aggravation of bilateral relations?

Answer: The violation of our airspace by an Iranian fighter jet is not related to the detention of residents of the spy network engaged in the export of the "Islamic Revolution of Iran" to Azerbaijan, or persons serving this network. The detection of networks of this type should not be regarded as a one-day job, but as the result of long-term operational monitoring and information received. The idea of the "Kerim" state is a plan of the Iranian special services directed exclusively against Azerbaijan and is implemented through traitors serving this idea from among Azerbaijani citizens living in Iran.

For many years, Azerbaijan,  did not want to create tension,  and has reacted mildly to Iranian provocations. But the Islamic Republic of Iran has always aggravated the situation and looked down on Azerbaijan. After our victory in the 44-day war, especially after the signing of the Shusha Declaration, Azerbaijan's power in the region increased, and adequate answers were given to all provocations of Iran. Iran, which could not bear even one bayati (genre of Azerbaijani lyrical verse lyrical quatrain; it means that on December 10 in Baku, speaking at a military parade in honor of Azerbaijan's victory in the war over Armenia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan read a verse, the meaning of which was that the Azerbaijani people are divided – Ed.), now he has to listen to how thousands of South Azerbaijani bayati,  poems sound but still he does not understand that his path is wrong. Azerbaijan is interested in normalizing bilateral relations with Iran, but Iran's policy does not allow this. The terrorist action at the embassy, the violation of airspace, the disappearance of an Azerbaijani citizen and other provocations are a manifestation of Iran's hostile policy. The reason for the tension is Iran.

Question: Does the Russian factor play a role in the emergence of this tension?

Answer: Since Russia started the war with Ukraine, it has turned into a rogue state that can only be friends with such states as Syria, Belarus, Iran, Eritrea, North Korea. Russia stands for tension between Azerbaijan and Iran, but it is not  interested in putting pressure on Azerbaijan. In September 2021, it was Russia that eliminated the tension that had arisen in relations with Iran. Russia does not recognize the influence of any other force in the South Caucasus. Russia does not want to increase Iran's influence in the region, but has artificially created tension and does not abandon the policy of acting as a fake arbitrator, just as it does not accept the activities of other mediators in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict today.

Question: Can the two armed incidents that took place in Baku in a row within one week have anything to do with Iran? Is that why the news about the detention of 32 people appeared after these events?

Answer:  The armed incidents in the “Bravo” Market and in the Officers' Park have nothing to do with Iran or other foreign countries. The fact that these events occurred sequentially raised questions in society and the media. Our society has witnessed terror and other incidents aimed at Azerbaijan more than once, and perceives the settling of scores between bandit and criminal groups as a means of pressure from another state. These events are not terror, that is, they are not considered a means of political pressure. And the arrest of 32 people, as already mentioned, is the result of long-term operational surveillance.

Question: Some domestic analysts believe that a "controlled" conflict with Iran is also beneficial to the Azerbaijani authorities. In their opinion, by doing this they want to insure themselves against the expectations of democracy of Western institutions. What do you think about this?

Answer: Amazing! Even when there was a struggle with radical religious groups, it was said that the Azerbaijani authorities deliberately exaggerated this factor in order to convince the West that without them these radicals would come to power and create problems. And now they want to take advantage of a "controlled" conflict. Is the attack on the embassy, the killing and wounding of diplomats, the violation of airspace, military, political, and economic assistance to Armenia also an integral part of the "managed" conflict? There are problems of democracy in Azerbaijan, but relations with Iran have nothing to do with it. It is obvious that a state like Iran, which is a source of threat to the region, is a problem not only for Azerbaijan, but also for all mankind, and to look for some moments that contradict democracy and human rights in detaining as a suspect a group belonging to a large network of agents that serves the interests of Iran is bias.

Question: How will this tension between Iran and Azerbaijan end? What steps should they take to get the relationship back to normal?

Answer: The return of these relations to normal largely depends on Iran. It is NOT Azerbaijan that is creating an agent network in Iran, but Iran in Azerbaijan. Iran provides assistance to Armenia to the enemy of Azerbaijan, the occupier of Armenia, while Azerbaijan does not allow the states that Iran considers its enemies to use its territory. Azerbaijan is not organizing an attack on the Iranian embassy, Azerbaijan was not the first to start exercises on the border, Iran started them. There are a lot of accusations, you can list them for a long time.