BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 10. Interstate relations are like a delicate and fragile vessel that requires careful handling, sincerity, and mutual respect. Any crack, an unspoken gesture, or a biting word can destroy even the strongest bridges, turning years of diplomacy into icy silence. Today, before our eyes, we see a dramatic example unfolding: instead of friendly handshakes between two ancient civilizations, Iran and Azerbaijan, a worrying web of distrust has stretched.
Each knot in this web represents an incident, a provocation, a careless statement, or the ignoring of an important signal. This network accumulates tension, clinging to old grievances and new contradictions, growing with assumptions, accusations, and misunderstandings. Where words of brotherhood and historical closeness were once spoken, today, a harsh dissonance of mutual claims is heard.
Azerbaijan, facing both historical and contemporary challenges, continually reminds the world of its sovereignty and national pride. In opposition to numerous threats, the country focuses on its rights and independence.
Iran, on the other hand, masks its actions under the rhetoric of good neighborliness. However, behind this facade, double standards, hidden hostile steps, and contradictory statements are increasingly visible, further intensifying the tension.
Diplomacy is an art where there is no room for trivialities. Today's mutual accusations, heard from the podiums and in the pages of newspapers, are like sharp daggers that inflict deep wounds, deepening historical cracks. But where is the truth? Why has the former harmony turned into bitter confrontation?
Time has ripened to carefully untangle each knot in this web: each provocation, each accusation, each hidden intention. Truth, like diplomacy, requires clarity, firmness, and respect.
Particular attention should be paid to an article published by the Iranian Mehr News agency. Its content, filled with accusations and attempts to shift the blame, became another knot of distrust. These loud statements cannot go unanswered. Silence in such cases is not a manifestation of diplomacy but a concession to falsehood.
Each accusation requires verification; each claim requires justification. Step by step, we will dissect the key grievances of the Iranian side, responding not with emotions but with facts. Only by relying on reality and international law can justice be restored.
During a memorial ceremony for the "martyrs of the Battle of Chaldiran and the martyrs of the Resistance Front" held in Ardabil, one participant made offensive statements against Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Despite claims that this person "did not have an official status," the situation gained serious resonance. Later, the representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in Ardabil province, Seyyid Hasan Amili, and the imam of Friday prayers made a statement calling the words of this individual "unacceptable" and emphasizing that they "did not reflect the official position of the Islamic Republic".
According to Amili, "the enemies of the Iranian nation are trying to undermine relations between Iran and its neighbors," and personal statements by individuals cannot be considered the official position of the government.
On January 1, the acting Iranian chargé d'affaires in Azerbaijan, Seyyed Jafar Aghayi Marian, was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. A strong protest was expressed regarding the offensive statements made at the event on December 29. Baku also expressed dissatisfaction with the growing anti-Azerbaijani sentiment in Iran and demanded an end to provocations undermining bilateral relations.
Despite the statements from Amili and the Council of Trustees of the Great Mosque of Ardabil, which claimed that the incident was the opinion of a "simple and irresponsible person," the reality says otherwise.
The person who made the offensive statements is Gholamreza Golizadeh, head of the "Ansar al-Mahdi Committee of Ardabil". According to video materials from his social media, he is closely associated with Amili and is part of his inner circle. Moreover, Golizadeh is an official working in a state structure.
After Azerbaijan's official protest, Amili issued an apology, which turned out to be worse than the offense itself. His rhetoric only confirmed the connection between the organizers of the event and the statements made.
The Mehr News, ignoring such concepts as objectivity and responsibility, published an article titled "Why is Aliyev raising insignificant issues against Iran?"
The article claims that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev "exaggerated a marginal issue, elevating it to an official level to justify his actions and present Baku as the innocent side in the ongoing conflict." The agency also attempted to link the incident in Ardabil with the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, which clearly appears to be an attempt to downplay the seriousness of what happened.
Baku has every right to protest sharply. The provocative statements from the Iranian side are not random or the result of actions by "individuals". They fit into a broader strategy of escalating tension and creating artificial conflicts.
Azerbaijan continues to defend its rights and sovereignty, demanding not only apologies from Iran but also the cessation of provocative actions that threaten regional stability and good neighborly relations.
First, President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with local TV channels, stated: "If any training or military exercises were conducted near our border, we carried out similar actions on our side of the Azerbaijan-Iran border. In other words, we showed that we are not intimidated by anyone and that we are on the right side. At the same time, this was accompanied by a campaign of insults in the press because this, apparently, is the style of work of some ruling circles. In fact, insults are a symbol of weakness. If you cannot achieve something – I mean people who are rude – they resort to insults. The one using insults actually insults himself.
Then came the news about the resolution issue from Iran and other reports. Following that, an act of terror was committed against our embassy—an organized terrorist attack. Several factors provided grounds to label it as such. First, for about 40 minutes, not a single police car arrived at the scene, despite the fact that this was happening in the center of the capital. Additionally, the person responsible for the attack was quickly declared mentally ill the very next day. However, any medical examination takes several days. This person appeared in the press on the very day he committed the terror and gave interviews. Two years have passed since that incident. To this day, the individual responsible has not faced the sentence that was handed down to him. All of this points to the fact that it was an organized act. It was a display of weakness, and the Azerbaijani side responded with appropriate measures. You know that we recalled all our embassy personnel, and only when we were officially promised – the late Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdollahian, who died in a helicopter crash, came here and promised me that the person would be sentenced to death – did we return the embassy employees. But they deceived us again. Because this death sentence was not executed, the case was sent back to court for investigation. In other words, this was an incomprehensible act at the state level, and we insist on our demands. We know that death sentences in Iran are pronounced for less serious crimes and are immediately executed. But here, two years later, not only has it not been carried out, the case has actually been sent back for further investigation".
... Azerbaijan has never considered the attack on its diplomatic mission as an "insignificant issue". Such an attack is a gross violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which obligates the receiving state to ensure the security of foreign diplomatic missions.
The armed attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the death of the head of security, cannot be regarded as a "private case." Iran's response to this incident was limited to formal statements, and the investigation, despite international pressure, has been delayed, with its conclusions still not fully presented.
The statements made at the Ardabil event threatened not only good-neighborly relations but also Azerbaijan's sovereignty. Any offensive remarks against heads of state and their peoples, especially in the context of already tense relations, are unacceptable. If Iran genuinely seeks normalization of relations, it must not only express regret but also take concrete steps to prevent such incidents.
The Mehr News, in its article, tried to shift the blame for the deterioration of relations onto Azerbaijan, claiming that Baku allegedly "exaggerates marginal issues".
This statement is misleading. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly emphasized that the deterioration of relations is due precisely to Iran's provocative actions.
Mehr News also claimed that Azerbaijan allegedly allows "Zionist bases" to operate on its territory. This claim is not only absurd but entirely unsubstantiated. Azerbaijan, as an independent state, conducts its foreign policy based on national interests. Cooperation with Israel is aimed solely at developing economic and strategic ties.
In contrast to Azerbaijan, Iran has supported terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah for decades and actively interferes in the internal affairs of neighboring countries. Such accusations from Iran appear to be an attempt to divert attention from its own problems.
Claims that "Azerbaijani media undermines Iran's territorial integrity" are also absurd. Azerbaijani media, unlike Iranian media, does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. However, Azerbaijan cannot ignore the discrimination against Azerbaijanis in Iran, especially in provinces with a predominantly Azerbaijani population.
... The Iranian rhetoric voiced in the Mehr News article is aimed at justifying its actions and shifting the responsibility for the deterioration of relations onto Azerbaijan. However, the facts speak otherwise. Azerbaijan is always open to dialogue, but this dialogue is possible only on the basis of mutual respect, adherence to international law, and a rejection of provocations.
Some Iranian forces, whether media or political groups, need to stop using accusations against Azerbaijan as an internal propaganda tool. Instead, they should focus on real steps to restore trust and normalize relations.