Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of “terrorism” and threatened retaliation after four people were injured on Thursday after drones attacked an airport and a village in the Nakhchivan exclave. Aliyev has blamed the attack on his country’s neighbor.
“Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev told a security council meeting.
The Azerbaijani army “has been instructed to prepare and carry out retaliatory measures” and “has been placed at mobilization level number one, and must be ready to carry out any operation,” he added.
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Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry had previously said the attacks “will not go unanswered.”
It added that it was investigating the types of drones used in the attack and “preparing the necessary response measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and ensure the safety of civilians and civil infrastructure.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied that Tehran had attacked Nakhchivan.
“We do not attack our neighboring countries,” he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ.
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry demanded that Iran “clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future,” adding that the incident “contributes to increased tensions in the region.”
He delivered a note of protest to the Iranian ambassador in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Iran already have strained relations over Baku’s growing economic, energy and military ties with NATO members Turkey and Israel, and the escalation of the US-Iran war risks triggering violence between the neighbors.
Azerbaijan said one drone landed on the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport, which is about 10 kilometers across the border with Iran, and another drone landed near a school building in a nearby village.
The four injured were taken to hospital, where they are in stable condition, the Health Ministry in the landlocked enclave of Azerbaijan, which borders Armenia, Iran and Turkey, told Reuters.
Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
