After Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sharply criticized Iran over its extensive military exercises along the border, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh apparently revealed what was really behind the unusual movements of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian army.
"The Islamic Republic will not tolerate the presence of the Zionist regime near its borders and will take any action it deems necessary for its security," Khatibzadeh added, adding that military exercises on our northwestern borders (ie the border with Azerbaijan) are part of our sovereignty and are done for peace and stability. Of the whole region. "
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban, Photo: AFP
Khatibzadeh's remarks came after Azerbaijani President Aliyev told Turkish Anadolu that "during the 30 years of Armenian occupation of Karbach, Iran has not carried out military exercises along the border," Aliyev said, adding that "why the Iranians did not hold exercises when the Armenians were in Gaza." "Braille, Pizzoli and Zangilen? This is a very surprising event. Any country can hold any military exercise in its territory. It is its sovereign right. But why now? Why on the border with us?"
At the same time, he referred to Iranian trucks that crossed from northwestern Iran to Armenia, through territories that are now - again - under Azerbaijan control.
"This is not the first time that Iranian trucks have illegally crossed Karbach," the Azerbaijani president explained. "This is something that has happened regularly throughout the Armenian occupation. "It was made clear to the Iranians that this should be stopped. Therefore, we began to control the road in Azerbaijan and the passage of Iranian trucks to Karbach was over."
Khatibazadeh's response is in stark contrast to the conciliatory messages that Iran's ambassador to Baku, Sayyid Abbas Mousavi, was trying to convey.
"These exercises cannot be perceived as a threat by our friends," Mousavi told the Azeri APA agency.
"Azerbaijan knew about the exercises a few months before they even took place."