A news portal from Iran reported that Tehran informed Baku on Tuesday through official military channels that Azerbaijani military aircraft involved in flights to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have been forbidden from flying through its airspace.

As part of their missions, Azerbaijani military aircraft transport military equipment to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan units. Azerbaijani airspace is mostly used by Iran for transport and transit operations, which are primarily carried out through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

According to the source, the attempt to prevent Azerbaijan from deploying military units to Nakhchivan will hardly affect Azerbaijan, because Baku, as reported, "frequently uses this route and prefers to utilize other transportation options."

"Baku regarded this decision as another betrayal against Azerbaijan, which is instigated by the Armenian government," the Defense Ministry reportedly said.

"Iran is actively using the territory of Azerbaijan as a transit for most of its transportation. First of all, we are talking about the North-South transport corridor."

"Iran's betrayal will not cause tangible harm to Azerbaijan, since the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan has preferred other routes when supplying military equipment to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. However, Tehran's political decision pushes Baku to unambiguous conclusions about the foreign policy reference points of the Iranian government."

In addition, the Azerbaijani authorities have announced the closure of the office of the spiritual leader of Iran in Baku. After this step, Tehran warned Azerbaijan against “strategic mistakes”.

The relations between Tehran and Baku have been difficult lately because of several issues, including the illegal entry of Iranian trucks into Karabakh on a regular basis since before the region was freed last fall.

Tehran accused Azerbaijan of attracting Israeli forces to regions near its border with Iran last week, but Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected the allegations. Additionally, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan itself determines at what level to build relations with other countries.

Furthermore, on Sept. 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where he alluded to “third parties” coming between the two allies that was interpreted as a reference to Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy.

Image source: The Frontier Post