The story surrounding the statement by the head of the Iranian General
Staff, Hasan Firusabadi, who forecast an obscure future for Azerbaijan
unless it changes its policy towards Islam, has not come to an end.
The authorities in Tehran tried to convince Baku that the statements
were unofficial. Mehr deleted the comments. The chairman of the
Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani, warned officials against such
statements.
Firuzabadi’s statements are another factor of tensions between Baku
and Tehran. Azerbaijan is also concerned with friendly ties between
Iran and Armenia. The two states have over 40 deals. Araz Azimov,
Deputy Foreign Minister for Nagorno-Karabakh, believes that Iran could
have acted like Turkey and closed the border with Armenia, he said in
an interview with today’s Zaman (Turkey).
Baku understands Moscow’s involvement in the fate of Yerevan, as
Armenia has always been a Russian partner in the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan is surprised that Iran, with 30 million Azerbaijani
natives, prefers relations with Armenia. It would be more logical for
Firuzabadi to make the statements for Armenia, which occupies 20% of
Azerbaijani territories.
Armenia approved the memorandum on mutual aid with Iran on August 11.
Iran provided $2 million for gasification of Armenian areas bordering
with it.
The position of Azerbaijan is more beneficial, as it’s a secular
state. 50% of Azerbaijani Muslims are Shiites. The Iranian political
model is extraneous for the Azerbaijani people. The arrest of Leader
Movsum Samedov demonstrates the indifference of the population to his
party and its ideas.
The Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan recently stopped a
radical religious group. Locals Abdul Suleymanov, Ramin Bayramov and
Arif Ganiyev are suspected of cooperating with foreign states to
organize mass unrest and provoke disorders.
The head of the PR Center of the Azerbaijani Ministry for National
Security, Arif Babayev, said that his ministry and the Prosecutor
General’s investigators revealed that Abdul Suleymanov had been
financed by the Baku Culture Center of Iran and had organized the
radical religious group Jeferi. Its members were agitating religious
discrimination. The organization financed meetings with religious
figures, promoting Shari’ah laws in Azerbaijan.
Baku had reasons not to trust Iran even before the general had made
the statements. Azerbaijan expects Iranian officials to prove their
devotion to preserve and strengthen peace. Although no such actions
have been demonstrated by Iran.
17.08.2011 / Author: Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Baku. Exclusively for VK
