MIDDLE EAST MONITORING DESK ISLAMABAD
Iran’s unbridled drones are playing havoc in the neighboring countries without keeping any difference between the friends and foes. This phenomenon is narrowing the way for Iran to survive the war as it turns supporters of peace into retaliators for defence. Iran, however, denies her hand behind the attack and calls it false flag operation of Israel.
At around midday on 5 March, drone attacks were carried out against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad.
Azerbaijan has strongly condemned these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians.
Azerbaijan considers this attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region.
The government of Azerbaijan has sought from the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide, within the shortest possible timeframe, a clear explanation regarding the case, conduct an appropriate investigation, and take the necessary urgent measures to ensure that such attacks are not repeated in the future.
The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate response measures.
Pakistan Expresses Serious Concern over Attacks Targeting Azerbaijan and Turkiye
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest has been conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest has been presented.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of #Azerbaijan strongly condemns the #attacks on civilian infrastructure in the territory of our country by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of #Iran, despite the absence of any military necessity.
The Islamic Republic of Iran bears full responsibility for the incident.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan prepars the necessary retaliatory measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country, ensure the safety of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure, and these acts of aggression will not go unanswered.
Iranian military shared on its social media page that the drone strike in Nakhchivan is a false flag attack most probably from Israeli side.
In a call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Tehran was not behind the attack, according to a ministry readout. Araghchi suggested that Israel could be responsible, describing the strike in a statement on Telegram as “aimed at diverting public opinion and undermining Iran’s good relations with its neighbours.”
Earlier, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also denied that Iran was behind the attack.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Gharibabadi said in comments carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “We do not target our neighbouring countries.”
“Iran’s policy is only to strike the military bases of its enemies” that are active in the region and those bases that are used to attack Iran, including those of the US and Israel, he added.
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