TEHRAN—Iran announced that its Revolutionary Guard Forces Corps on Sunday downed an Israeli drone near a uranium enriching facility in central Iran. Sources said that the drone was launches from a military base in Nakhichevan, indicating Baku’s involvement in the mission.
The news of the drone’s provenance from Nakhichevan was also confirmed by sources close to DEBKAfile, an Israeli military intelligence website based in Jerusalem.
Iran’s military did not officially identify Azerbaijan as the point of origin of the drone, but said that they have confirmation that the drone was launched from a former Soviet republic.
In a statement on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had successfully intercepted and shot down an Israeli spy drone by a surface-to-air missile, known as Hermes 450. The aircraft was on its way toward the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran’s central province of Isfahan, reported the Fars news agency.
On Wednesday, Fars reported, that the Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri said the country whence the drone originated must make “compensatory actions” or else be publicly named.
Jazayeri also said that Iran will take decisive action and hinted that in retaliation for what he called Israel’s infringement on its territorial integrity “the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to the enemy in the occupied territories [Palestinian territories].”
Iran’s foreign ministry said that Iran would pursue the matter within international organizations.
Official Baku has not commented on the matter.
It is good that Iran is not against Armenia and has generally friendly relations, but unfortunately I am not very upbeat about it from the stuff I read on the internet. They may not be against us, but I get the feeling they are not particularly with us either when it would come to a conflict with Azerbaijan. And as this article shows, Iran is reluctant to call out Azerbaijan for what it is. I seem to have read someplace during the NKR war, Iran even helped Azerbaijan on a limited basis in indirect ways with logistical support, weapons, etc. And the few times I have read Iranian news sources about Armenia and Azerbaijan, they use pretty much the same rhetoric as Baku, such as “Armenian separatists have been occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijan” etc. Maybe I’m wrong about Iran, and I hope I am, but I still see a concern. We can be thankful that we don’t have Iran as an enemy, but the lesson learned is, Islam is Islam, never turn your backs.
It depends on location of the source. There are plenty of ethnic Azeris in Northern Iran, which also happen to border Armenia and was the namesake for which the Republic of Azerbaijan was coined, so there will definitely be more pro-Azeri literature coming from those parts of the country. Most Iranian Azeris, however, are not hostile to Armenians.
Alief is no friend of Iran. He has left the gates open to anyone who can harm Iran or Armenian. Like most tyrants his days are numbered and when a suitable time arrives when he does not serve any use to his masters,they will let his own people who are now scared of his shadow,butcher hin!
Azerbaijan will do anything for money!
It seems to me the land of fire will become a fireball!
The regime in Baku has nothing to be worry!
Nothing will happen , since the official Teheran is pursuing a very soft approach to the different kinds of provocations by the regime in Baku for almost last 15 years. –
E.g
The regime in Baku is “selling ” and introducing to the world Persian poet Nezami Ganjawi as “Azerbaijani poet”- The only problem is Nezami Ganjawi wrote only in Persian and there has been never a state “Azerbaijan” till 1918 – The secount example is the so called” Azerbaijani Polo game “- which being included in UNESCO list and Teheran did nothing to prevent it- since Polo game was indeed more a Persian game …
Iran’s relationship with Armenia has always been good and friendly.
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This Drone attack on Iran from Azerbaijan is another example showing Azeri disrespect for Iran.
Iran should learn a lesson and distance itself from Azerbaijan. However, it is going to be difficult because many Azeri’s also live in Iran.
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Azerbaijan is like a beautiful snake that has to be watched at all times.
Iranians should know the character of their own cousins by now.
Nevertheless, Armenia should use this development as a means of securing stronger economic and political relations with Iran. This is beneficial to us in the obvious way, and it reminds Russia that there are other options in the region. Armenia should underscore its presence as the deterrent to Aliyev’s despotic regime and give Iran an opportunity to realize that there is a way to put them if check, if need be. When there are peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, our support for Iran be used as a bargaining chip.