Why does Aliyev bring up unimportant issues against Iran?

In a lengthy interview with Azeri local media on Tuesday, President Aliyev reviewed the political and economic situation of his country and the developments in the region in 2024. In part of interview about the future of relations between Tehran and Baku, he brought up unimportant issues and stated that “relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan were deteriorated under the previous Iranian government, and we still do not have very serious relations under the new government; there have been contacts between the two countries, but they were mostly related to economic and transportation issues.”

“The deterioration of ties were not our fault,” the Azeri president later said, blaming the previous Iranian government for the the current state of relations. Aliyev claimed that the reason for the deteriorated relations between the two countries is Tehran, but even in an official interview yesterday, he once again, without providing any reason, highlighted the incident of the attack on the country’s embassy in Tehran two years ago and the recent marginal issues in Ardabil, saying that he and the Turkish president were insulted and that “the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s expression of regret was not enough and Tehran must officially apologize.”

On  December 29, 2023, during the recent ceremony commemorating the “martyrs of the Chaldaran War and the martyrs of the Resistance Front” in Ardabil, one of the participants of the ceremony, who was not holding any official position, made statements against the leaders of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkey, which soon forced Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Ameli, Friday prayer imam and representative of the Leader of the Islamic Republic in Ardabil province, to announce that “The inappropriate language that was used in one of the gatherings this week by an ordinary and unofficial person cannot be considered our official, religious, and belief language and the official position of the Islamic Republic, and such a relationship in the world of diplomacy is completely unconventional and controversial.”

Recalling that “the enemies of the Iranian nation are seeking to destroy and undermine Iran’s relations with its neighbors,” he emphasized, “Everyone knows that the personal statements of individuals are by no means the official stance of any government in the world.”

Furthermore, as Aliyev himself said, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has also officially expressed regret over the incident; however, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires in Baku on January 1 and announced its protest. 

Azerbaijan was expected not to allow such remarks from an irresponsible and ordinary person, who is a completely unimportant issue to be brought up to an official level. However, surprisingly, in his official interview yesterday as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev enhanced this marginal issue to the highest official levels and claimed that Iran should officially “apologize” for the statements of an ordinary person.

To make this false statement believable, Aliyev placed this unimportant issue alongside the attack on the Iranian embassy in Tehran two years ago, in order to kind of prove, that Baku is completely “innocent” in creating the current situation.

In February 2022, following an armed attack on the Azerbaijani embassy, ​​the Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the act and emphasized that an armed individual’s attack on the embassy was carried out of personal motives, announcing that Tehran would seriously follow up on the matter and prosecute the perpetrator of the incident; however, Aliyev, recalling this event once again, describes the attack on the Baku embassy as “terrorist” in order to create tensions between the two countries for unknown and suspicious reasons; This is while, according to international norms, such issues can be resolved at lower levels and do not need to be enhanced to an official and high level.

Aliyev blamed Tehran for the current state of the bilateral relations as if these marginal issues were a bolt from the blue. He brings up unimportant issues as if Republic of Azerbaijan, as a Muslim country and neighbor, has observed good neighborliness, and it is Iran that is seeking to worsen relations between the two countries by touching on those issues.

Since in order to understand any phenomenon, one must also consider its previous record and take into account the processes that led to the occurrence of an incident or event. The current state of relations between Tehran and Baku is no exception. It is necessary to ask what other factors are involved in the current situation that Ilham Aliyev deliberately ignores and points the blame at Tehran.

Everybody knows that one of the main bases of the Zionist regime around Iran is the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that many anti-Iranian mischiefs and sabotage attacks can be traced back to the Zionist bases and its headquarters in the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, the Baku officials not only have not taken any action in this regard, but also boast about their relationship with Tel Aviv.

Furthermore, over the past years, the media and television networks of the Republic of Azerbaijan have repeatedly acted against the territorial integrity of Iran and aired special programs for the Azeri-speaking target audience in Iran with their malicious goals. However, Iran has never brought up such meddling activities at an official level and has always emphasized good neighborliness and good relations with neighbors, calling for the peaceful resolution of those problems. It has also advised the Republic of Azerbaijan that the Zionist regime is seeking to disrupt the good relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan; an issue that the Baku authorities always ignore.  It is an irony, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan thinks that he is in a position to blame Iran for the current situation!

MNA/6341418