Details added (first version posted at 11:10)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29. The Caucasus Muslims Office (CMO) resolutely condemns Iranian foreign minister's speech made in Armenia's Kapan and demands to retract the statement, Trend reports via the CMO.
The CMO made the remark regarding the threatening statements of Iran and military drills carried out along the border with Azerbaijan.
"Since the 2020 Karabakh War, Azerbaijan has demonstrated its clear intention to develop political and economic ties with neighboring countries to ensure regional peace and cooperation. However, Azerbaijan's good intentions are often perceived negatively and completely misinterpreted. This is especially evident in relation with neighboring Iran. As far as Azerbaijan is a secular, law-governed and democratic state, it's the responsibility of officials to express an opinion on political and economic issues. As for theocratic Iran, the religious community of the country is responsible for commenting on political events. Thus, as the religious center of Azerbaijan, we regard as a duty to express our attitude toward religious-spiritual realities," the CMO noted.
The statement said that the religious factor between Iran and Azerbaijan is of particular necessity among other historical and moral values. This phenomenon should foster the further rapprochement of the two peoples.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed. Protective attitude of Iran towards Armenia before and since the solution of the Karabakh conflict, is condemned by Muslims, the Azerbaijani people. Unlike other Muslim countries, which didn't establish political and diplomatic relations with the aggressor-country and made statements condemning the occupation, Iran further enhanced all-inclusive cooperation with Armenia, thus ignoring the resolutions adopted within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This attitude running counter to Islam values is not perceived by the Azerbaijani believers," said the statement.
"During the occupation period of Azerbaijani lands, when Armenia transformed mosques into pigsties, committed the Khojaly genocide, forced a million Azerbaijanis to leave their native lands, Iran made no statements to protest against these atrocities. When the Armenians, having destroyed Azerbaijani mosques in Karabakh and Western Azerbaijan, "rebuilt" the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha and the Blue Mosque in Yerevan in order to create the image of allegedly caring of mosques, the Iranian companies were covering the vandal actions of Armenia through changing the peculiarity of Azerbaijani mosques," said the statement.
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