Not every day a senior Saudi praises Israel in front of everyone and not every day it happens in Washington.
A day after meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said today (Friday) that Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel because "they (Israel) have contributed to regional stability and a path to peace."
Prince Faisal added that "at the same time, we are convinced that the only way to achieve lasting stability is to address the Palestinian issue and the issue of the Palestinian state ... with Jerusalem as its capital, with respect and sovereignty."
In recent times, Tehran has tried to send messages as if there is a rapprochement between them and Riyadh, but the Saudi foreign minister insisted that "no real progress has been made in the talks, but we are committed to the talks."
As for the nuclear program of the Ayatollahs regime, it was much more assertive.
"Iran's accelerated nuclear activities are very disturbing," said Prince Faisal, adding: "I think we are entering a very dangerous phase."
Simulation of the Iranian invasion of Azerbaijan / Photo: Caliber Agency
At the same time, Iran has suffered harsh accusations today not only in the Persian Gulf sector, but also in the Caspian Sea region. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev used his speech to the Independent Organization of Independent States (CIS) to say that "we have closed the drug smuggling route from Iran, through Armenia to Europe, which they used through Jabrayil province," in Karbach. He said that in the second Karbach war, "we regained some 130 km of border with Iran, which had been under Armenian occupation for 30 years. They used this area to smuggle drugs. "
Birban and Tehran, apparently, were very frightened by his remarks - and they responded within a short time.
"We have fought with Iran against drug smuggling," Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pashinian told the Organization of Independent States.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibazadeh, who was recently in a long message battle with his Azeri counterpart Leila Abdullah, later claimed that "thousands of victims and wounded in the fight against drugs in the last four decades testify to the Iranian struggle against the drug scourge."
Regarding Baku, he added that "it seems that despite positive messages received from them, Baku has an intention to make baseless media statements. Such accusations serve the Zionist interests."
Said Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Photo: AFP
As you may recall, a week ago it was revealed that the Azerbaijani "Caliber" agency in Azerbaijan accuses Iran of invading their territory during the Second Karbach War. During the same war, Azerbaijan liberated many occupied territories from Armenia through large-scale Israeli-made weapons, including - among others - the Aroop suicide bomber, the Laura missiles and the Tammuz missiles. However, on October 17 last year - about three weeks after the war broke out - it turns out that the Azerbaijani army found itself in an unfamiliar situation. They have liberated the strategic village of Khodafrin in Jabrail province, where there is a bridge that crosses the Aras River into Iran.
Afterwards, the Azerbaijani army continued towards the dam of the local power station - in order to advance towards the Zəngilan province in the shortest and safest way.
To the surprise of the forces, they encountered not only Armenian forces in the area, but also Iranian fighters who crossed the Aras River into territory that according to international law belongs to Azerbaijan.
The Iranians created defensive batteries, effectively blocking the way of the Azeri fighters.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Israeli-made suicide bomber Harup,
"We are defending the dam," the Iranians tried to justify in real time.
On the other hand, the Azeris chose not to attack militarily - and turned through Tehran's diplomatic channels.
"We will make your betrayal public," Baku officials told Iranians, who are deeply concerned about the 18 million Iranian Azeris living south of the Aras River.
On the contrary, Tehran also knows that the Azeris, in both Iran and Azerbaijan, well remember that the Armenians captured their cultural capital, Shosha, in 1992 - during a round of mediation conducted by the Iranians.
The same city returned to Azerbaijan only following the results of the Second Carbach War.
The Iranians panicked and sent to Jabrail their military attaché in Baku, Javad Purutani, with senior Azerbaijani military personnel to watch what was happening from the ground.
After negotiations, the Iranians folded - and withdrew their forces from the region. However, the damage for Azerbaijan has already been done. The Armenians managed to reorganize, lead to the reserve additional forces, and strengthen their defensive line.
