BAKU. March 31 (Interfax) - Baku condemns Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani's statement regarding Azerbaijani-Israeli relations and sees it as a step toward a crisis in relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Kanaani said Tehran was concerned about Azerbaijan's and Israel's plans for strategic partnership and demanded explanations from Baku. Kanaani described such cooperation as "a conspiracy" that Israel is plotting against Iran in Azerbaijan's territory.
"We recommend Kanaani thoroughly listen to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov's words he said at a press briefing during his visit. As is known, Bayramov did not voice any position against Iran at the press briefing with the Israeli foreign minister [on March 29]. In this context, we see the Iranian Foreign Ministry's statement as yet another anti-Azerbaijani step," Hajizadeh said in his commentary.
"Azerbaijan has never allowed its territory to be used against third countries," he said.
On the other hand, Azerbaijan has heard threats and seen provocative acts from Iran lately, Hajizadeh said. "This is evident from Iran's military exercises and combat flights along Azerbaijan's borders, anti-Azerbaijani statements by its officials, videos full of threats leveled at Azerbaijan, as well as an assassination attempt on Azerbaijani parliamentarian Fazil Mustafa [on March 28, 2023], where a preliminary investigation has uncovered traces leading to Iran," he said.
"Iranian-Armenian brotherhood today poses a threat to the region as a whole," he said.
"Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani territories for the past 30 years, in fact with Iran's silent consent. It is commonly known that Iran has not attached any significance to the occupation of Karabakh and East Zangezur and the plundering of these districts [...] Considering this, we strongly condemn press secretary Kanaani's statement. This statement is yet another step toward a crisis in Azerbaijani-Iranian relations," he said.
Iran's threats cannot scare Azerbaijan, Hajizadeh said. "Any aggression and provocation against Azerbaijan will be resolutely curbed," he said.