Iran’s Ambassador: “West Azerbaijan Is an Iranian Province, Not to Be Used for Other Territories”

YEREVAN — “West Azerbaijan is one of the provinces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and cannot be used to refer to any other territory,” stated Iran’s Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani.

“The name ‘West Azerbaijan,’ as used, refers to a province of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It cannot be applied to any other geographical area, especially if it implies territorial claims against Armenia,” Ambassador Sobhani said, reaffirming Iran’s firm position that Tehran categorically rejects any territorial claims that violate Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan’s government has referred to parts of Armenia’s sovereign territory as “Western Azerbaijan” and has demanded that the Armenian government clarify how Azerbaijanis would be able to “return to their historical lands.”

Commenting on reports that Israel may have used Azerbaijani territory to launch strikes against Iran, the ambassador emphasized that Tehran raised the issue with Baku based on intelligence reports.

“We received information indicating that a small number of drones entered our airspace from neighboring countries. During a phone conversation between the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, our president requested that President Aliyev conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. We will wait to see the results of that investigation before deciding how to respond,” Sobhani stated.

He also noted that “it is both possible and likely that the enemy Zionist regime used the territory of that neighboring country.” At the same time, he recalled that Azerbaijani officials had previously assured Iran that they would not allow their territory to be used in that way.

When asked whether Iran, with its strong regional intelligence capabilities, might have overlooked an attack originating from Azerbaijani territory, the ambassador responded: “It was precisely our intelligence services that alerted us and led the Iranian side to request an investigation from Azerbaijan. We are now waiting for an official statement from the relevant sources.”