Marukyan: Baku drew Armenia into anti-Iran campaign

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan drew Armenia into an anti-Iranian campaign and then repositioned itself as a friendly state toward Iran, wrote former National Assembly deputy and former ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan.

He outlined recent developments between Azerbaijan and Iran.

According to Marukyan, the sequence began when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan to offer condolences following the death of Iran’s supreme leader.

Later, on March 5, Azerbaijani media reported that a drone allegedly launched from Iran had crashed in the territory of Nakhichevan.

“After that, harsh statements were made in Azerbaijan against Iran. During an emergency meeting of Azerbaijan’s Security Council, Aliyev said he viewed the ‘Iranian drone strike toward Nakhchivan’ as terrorism against Azerbaijan,” Marukyan wrote.

At the same time, Iran’s General Staff, Foreign Ministry, and the Iranian embassy in Baku officially denied the reports.

Following these developments, Azerbaijan closed its air border with Iran and completely halted the movement of cargo trucks.

According to Marukyan, Azerbaijan also sought and received support from various countries, including Armenia, noting that the Armenian flag was used in an anti-Iran post.

On March 8, Aliyev held a phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who reaffirmed that Iran had not carried out any attack against Azerbaijan.

After the call, Azerbaijan reopened the border for cargo transport, and later, on Aliyev’s instructions, humanitarian aid was sent to Iran.

“This chain of events clearly shows how within a few days Baku drew Armenia into an anti-Iranian campaign, then repositioned itself and now presents itself as a friendly state toward Iran,” Marukyan said.

Earlier reports said that Iranian drones had struck Nakhchivan airport and that several unmanned aerial vehicles had fallen in other areas. Iran’s ambassador to Baku, Mojtaba Demirchilou, was summoned to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry and handed a note of protest.