US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging Washington to back freedom for Azerbaijanis who live in Iran.
"It would be wise for the United States to encourage such cooperation, as the aggressive dictatorship in Tehran is our enemy as well as theirs," noted Congressman Rohrabacher, who is also Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
"The people of Azerbaijan are geographically divided and many are calling for the reunification of their homeland after nearly two centuries of foreign rule."
Almost twice as many Azerbaijanis live in Iran as in the Azerbaijani Republic. Their homeland was divided by Russia and Persia in 1828, without their consent. "The Azerbaijan Republic won its independence in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed," continues the letter. "Now it is time for the Azerbaijanis in Iran to win their freedom too."
"Aiding the legitimate aspirations of the Azerbaijani people for independence is a worthy cause in and of itself," Rohrabacher says. "Yet, it also poses a greater danger to the Iranian tyrants than the threat of bombing its underground nuclear research bunkers."
The congressman also urges a trilateral alliance be taken by the US, Israel and Azerbaijan, saying that such a coalition would be a real threat to Iran.
However it seems that Rohrabacher is being too straightforward. The situation surrounding South Azerbaijan is indeed complicated. The Azerbaijani Republic's authorities know that their compatriots in Iran are not considered a nation and have no chance of using their native language in public life. In spite of that, Baku is not ready to start a row.
The United States also seems unready to openly support the dissolution of the Islamic Republic.
In other words, discussion of a US-Israel-Azerbaijani alliance aimed at subverting the Iranian government is premature. Still, the US congressman managed to recognize a very complicated problem.
Bilateral cooperation exists between Israel and Azerbaijan, including colllaboration in the sphere of defense. However, it's based on mutual political and economic interests and one cannot say that anti-Iranian policy is the main foundation of this cooperation. Azerbaijan is the main oil supplier to Israel, while Israel is the main provider of arms to Azerbaijan. Israel delivers modern weapons to the country, to which NATO member states prefer not to supply weaponry as they are afraid of destabilizing the region. This fact makes Israel probably the only arms supplier to Azerbaijan.
Another reason for Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation is Azerbaijan's desire to gain the support of the Israeli lobby in the US and Europe. For instance, in the United States the Israeli lobby has backed Azerbaijan several times.
For Israel, Azerbaijan also seems a valuable ally. It's probably the only Muslim state with which Israel maintains good relations. This has become especially important after the country's conflict with Turkey. This means that Israel and Azerbaijan have a lot of common interests apart from the Iranian threat.
In addition to that, one should not automatically declare Azerbaijan to be Iran's enemy. Azerbaijan has always been faithful to its multi-vector foreign policy. For example, Azerbaijan maintains good relations with Russia, even though Moscow enhances ties with Yerevan.
Iran as well as Russia is one of the most influential state in the region. That is why Azerbaijan signed the Nakhichivan declaration, according to which it refused to allow its territory to be used for an attack on Iran.
Moreover Azerbaijan tries not to highlight to problem of South Azerbaijan. These are non-governmental organizations and opposition, who draw public attention to the matter.
Nevertheless the Iranian authorities should understand that the problem exists and that Azerbaijanis living in Iran should be ably to enjoy their fundamental rights.
