Mordechai Kedar
JNS, June 15, 2023
“… a strong Azerbaijan that reclaims Shusha, Fizouli, Aghdam and other cities in Karabakh can one day also reclaim Tabriz and other Azerbaijani cities that were separated from Azerbaijan unfairly due to the colonial Treaty of Turkmenchay between Qajar Iran and the Russians in 1828.”
As the Islamic Republic of Iran opens its new embassy in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijani-Iranian relations continue to deteriorate.
In recent days, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a warning against Azerbaijani citizens traveling to Iran. This comes as Azerbaijani embassies across the world increase their security in the wake of the Iranian threat and an Azerbaijani student, Farid Safarli, was imprisoned in the Islamic republic after traveling to Tehran to visit his girlfriend. Presently, Safarli faces espionage charges.
In the wake OF Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Azerbaijan, Iranian rhetoric against Baku has only worsened. There have been media reports that Nasser Kananai of Iran’s Foreign Ministry referred to Israel’s president as the president of the “fake, child-killing and occupying Zionist regime” and slammed Azerbaijan for hosting him.
This comes after the Azerbaijani authorities closed the offices of the Iranian cultural attaché in Baku and declared six Iranian officials persona non grata, giving them 48 hours to leave Azerbaijan. Iran did the same to four Azerbaijani diplomats in Tehran.
These latest moves were taken after Iran attacked the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran last International Holocaust Memorial Day, killing a security guard, attempted to assassinate Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa and tried to kill Azerbaijani dissidents in the U.S. Ahmad Obali and his son Deniz.
Iran’s hatred of Azerbaijan has deep roots. The Iranians despise Azerbaijan for being a majority Shia country that chooses to be secular, modern, tolerant and multicultural. For this reason, the Iranians always backed Armenia in their dispute with Azerbaijan and are doing everything possible to block a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as this will lead to Iranian influence decreasing in the region. Furthermore, the Iranians hate Azerbaijan for building a positive relationship with the State of Israel and opening up a new embassy in Tel Aviv.
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