Relations between Baku and Tehran have never been very warm, but in recent times they became worse. On Sunday the foreign ministry of Iran summoned the ambassador of Azerbaijan and accused Baku of supporting the Israeli special services in the murder of an Iranian physicist, Irna reports. Iran accused Azerbaijan of close cooperation with Israel against Iran. It seems it was a reaction to an article in The Times, which says that Mossad sent its agents to Baku for espionage.
Tehran accuses several countries of murdering their physicists. President Ahmadinejad claimed the involvement of the special services of Israel and the West in terrorist attacks in Tehran. In January the Iranian foreign ministry addressed the government of the UK and demanded explanations for the death of Mustafa Ahmadi Roshan, the deputy director at the nuclear facility in Natanza. Now it is time for Azerbaijan.
The foreign ministry of Azerbaijan has already reacted to the protest. “The information is not true – it is slander. Azerbaijan is a country which suffers from terrorism itself, and would never allow support for terrorism on its territory,” the official representative of the foreign ministry, Elman Abdullayev, told Trend. It is difficult to consider Baku as a supporter of terrorism. Probably Tehran is dissatisfied with the anti-terrorist activity of Azerbaijan, as in January the ministry of national security prevented a terrorist attack in Baku. A group connected with the special services of Iran is accused of attempts on the lives of social activists.
At the moment Baku has to balance between Turkey and Iran in its foreign policy. Turkey and Azerbaijan form a union, and its interests contradict the Iranian position, and it has deep historic roots. Azerbaijan had been a part of Iran’s predecessor, the Persian Empire, for many years, and Azerbaijani khanates were dependent on Iran. Most of Azerbaijanis belong to the Djafariat movement of Shiism, which is spread in Iran. 30 million Azerbaijanis live in Iran and support ties with their relatives from Azerbaijan.
Negative statements toward Azerbaijan are not rare among Iranian politicians. The stumbling block is the secular nature of Azerbaijan, which weakens the influence of Tehran in the country. More than 50% of Azerbaijan’s population are followers of Shiism. Many citizens are concerned with participation of Shiah Muslim organizations in political processes. Secular Azerbaijan has nothing in common with the Iranian model.
There is one more factor, which influences relations between the two countries – the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite religious differences, Tehran has closer relations with Yerevan. Even though both Turkey and Iran publicly call for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, they have absolutely different approaches to the issue.
Tensions in relations between Tehran and Baku is growing, as Baku develops cooperation with Tel-Aviv in many spheres, including industry. Moreover, Israel has rather cool relations with Armenia, which contributes to its cooperation with Azerbaijan. However, considering the fragility of the security system in the South Caucasus, tension between Iran and Azerbaijan could lead to an unexpected shift in the regional processes and cause a conflict.
Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Baku. Exclusively to VK
