Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of launching a drone attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, claiming that civilian infrastructure, including the terminal at Nakhchivan International Airport and a school, had been deliberately targeted.
The allegation was made during a Security Council meeting in Baku on 5 March. Aliyev described the incident as a “terrorist act” against the Azerbaijani state, stating that multiple civilian sites were struck by unmanned aerial vehicles allegedly operated by Iran.
“The Azerbaijani state resolutely condemns this heinous act of terror,” he said, adding that the armed forces had been ordered to prepare retaliatory measures. “Our Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence, the State Border Service, and all other Special Forces – have been brought to full combat readiness level one and must be prepared to carry out any operation.”
The Iranian ambassador in Baku had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a formal note of protest was to be delivered, alongside additional diplomatic and border measures.
Aliyev linked the alleged strike to prior hostile acts by Tehran, including the January 2023 attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran, which left one Azerbaijani citizen dead and another injured. At the time, Azerbaijani authorities accused Iranian security structures of involvement, prompting the evacuation of embassy staff and a suspension of diplomatic activity in Iran.
The president also dismissed claims by Tehran that Azerbaijani territory had been used to launch operations against Iran. He emphasised that Baku had consistently assured its neighbour that no military actions would be conducted from Azerbaijani soil, reiterating that Azerbaijan had no intention of striking Iran.
Aliyev further highlighted recent assistance provided to Iran, including facilitating the evacuation of Iranian diplomatic personnel from Lebanon at Tehran’s request earlier on 5 March.
Iran denies involvement
Tehran has strongly denied any role in the attack. In a phone call with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Iran was not behind the strike. Araghchi suggested Israel could be responsible, describing the incident on Telegram as “aimed at diverting public opinion and undermining Iran’s good relations with its neighbours”.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi echoed this position, stating:
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan. We do not target our neighbouring countries.”
Gharibabadi added that Tehran’s military policy is limited to striking “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”.
The Nakhchivan exclave is part of a US-brokered peace arrangement signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A proposed land corridor, referred to as the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity”, is intended to connect mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, while providing a passage between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Iran has long opposed the Zangezur corridor, fearing it could limit its access to Armenia and the wider Caucasus while placing potentially hostile foreign forces near its border.
