In the protracted Iran-Azerbaijan political crisis, which escalated to the highest point after the arrest of two Azerbaijani writers in Iran, there have been some positive developments. In recent days, there is some warming in relations between the two countries. The visit of Vice President Seyyed Hassan Mousavi to Baku was successful and was able to diffuse a situation; the indirect evidence of this fact is the statements of Mousavi and his positive informational background in the two countries, as well as the fact that the Iranian politician was received by President Ilham Aliyev.
The probable reason for the success of the visit of Mousavi is that it was dedicated to the liberation of Azerbaijani poets in Iran and their subsequent return to their homeland. Earlier, the head of state did not participate in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Tehran, and many analysts considered this fact to be serious diplomatic signal to Iran.
"People who do not support strengthening relations between Azerbaijan and Iran will not be able to prevent the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries," - vice-president of Iran Seyed Hassan Mousavi said at a meeting with the head of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO), Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade on Thursday in Baku. "Iran and Azerbaijan are two brothers, and no one will interfere with the relations between them", - Mousavi said. He stressed that Iran has always supported Azerbaijan both during the nomination of the republic in the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and in the Karabakh issue. "Iran has always maintained the principled position of Azerbaijan in its dispute with the neighboring country (Armenia - VK), and Iran defends this position in international organizations", - he said. "However, our enemies are concerned about the good relations between us. The closer we become, the more they worry, "- he said, stressing that Iran's position is right, and therefore Iran will gain success, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.
Saying that "no one can interfere with the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan," the vice-president of Iran is, of course, disingenuous. Suffice it to recall the nervous reaction of Tehran in connection with the sensational publication in the American edition of «Foreign Policy», which argued that Azerbaijan allegedly wants to to pass its abandoned military airfields to Israel for the strike on Iran. It would seem a general fake absolutely not confirmed by any facts, but the relations between the two countries then became strained to the limit.
In turn, Pashazade expressed gratitude to Iran for the release of two Azerbaijani poets, who were arrested in Tabriz, in May 2012, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports. Pashazadeh said he appreciated the results of the recent summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, which promoted peace in the region. Pashazadeh said he was impressed by the speech of Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader, at the summit.
While Sheikh Pashazade, as the representative of the Azerbaijani clergy, found it necessary to thank Iran for the release of Azerbaijani poets, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry decided to call a spade a spade and not to burst into gratitude: "The release of Azerbaijani poets means justice," - the press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said in a press briefing. According to him, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that the arrest of Azerbaijani poets affects the development of relations between Baku and Tehran.
In fact, there was a fairly complicated situation with the arrested poets. Just four days before the date of indictment, they were released by the Iranian authorities and handed over to the Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz. Only after the return of poets in Baku it became known what they were accused of in Iran.
"We are in no way to blame, but the Iranian authorities have accused us of an illegal act and arrested," - one of the writers released on September 4, Shahriyar Hajizadeh, said in an interview to Turan. He and Farid Hussein went to Iran on April 29 in order to participate in a festival of poetry, where they were invited officially. The festival continued for three days in the cities of Binap, Maraga and Tabriz. "As part of the festival, we visited historic sites in these cities," – Hajizadeh said.
According to him, the indictment stated that the Azerbaijani writers visited the facilities of strategic importance and photographed them, intending to convey information to some terrorist organization. "We just visited historic sites, and all the accusations are lies we constantly denied during questioning," – Hajizadeh said.
The conditions of confinement were normal; no physical pressure during interrogation was rendered. "We were accused in the fact that we wanted to illegally build cultural ties. It turned out that it was necessary to obtain written permission to do this. Nevertheless, the court's sentence did not talk about it. The prosecution argued that we were members of some organizations and arrived in Iran for drug trafficking. In addition, they claimed that we arrived in Tabriz in order to separate it from Iran. It's as if we were members of the World Congress of Azerbaijanis and their agents.
The indictment also said that we were sent by the university, that we were in the houses of some people, wrote slogans there and planned to hold meetings. We were accused of trying to disrupt the stability and peace in Iran; this is subject to three months to one year in prison. As a result, the court has deprived us of freedom for 365 days "- Hajizadeh said.
According to him, when they were released, it was stated that the supreme spiritual leader of the country pardoned them, Turan reports.
It is noteworthy that against the background of the liberation of Azerbaijani poets in Iran there have been some rumors in some Azerbaijani media about the imminent release of journalist Anar Bayramli who worked in Baku for Iranian media and was sentenced to two years on charges of drug trafficking. This information is still not confirmed, but it is possible that Baku could go to such a deal with Tehran in order to make its citizens free. Something else is also clear: no successfully completed "bargaining" concerning arrested poets and convicted journalists can be a determining factor in the Iranian-Azerbaijani relations. Cases of this kind are, if anything, technical obstacles that the parties can resolve in due course using even a minimum of political will.
The true nature of the Iranian-Azerbaijani relations is defined by a whole set of factors, including, in particular, religious and ethnic components. However, the opposite geopolitical orientations of the two countries are crucial. Azerbaijan is increasingly being integrated into the Western power projects and Euro-Atlantic structures, and it is objectively more difficult for it to find a common groun with its southern neighbor, despite all attempts to distance itself from the anti-Iran policy of the U.S. and Israel in the region. The signing of the Nakhchivan declaration this year in which Azerbaijan has officially pledged to prevent anti-Iranian activities in its own territory was one such attempt to disown the desire of the West to involve Baku in an anti-Iranian coalition.
On the other hand, as a result of isolation and Western sanctions policy toward Iran, the position of ultra-conservative politicians is being strengthened; this fact is confirmed by the recent parliamentary elections in the country. As a result, Iran has also becomes more aggressive and unpredictable with respect to secular Azerbaijan, whose population consists mostly of Shiite Muslims, which Iran's Shiite clergy considers its potential successors. In such circumstances, the chances for a real and lasting improvement in relations between Baku and Tehran are very small. The liberation of Azerbaijani poets would be a positive impetus to the development of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations; however, regional and geo-political situation is not conducive to this process.
