Turkey and Iran Discuss Current Situation in the Caucasus

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that political consultations were held between the foreign ministries of Turkey and Iran. The consultations took place in Ankara and involved Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sadat Onal and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani.

During the political consultations, the parties exchanged views on Turkish-Iranian relations, as well as regional and international issues in the Caucasus, Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

These political consultations in Turkey come against the backdrop of rising tensions in Iran-Azerbaijan relations. Senior officials from both countries have accused each other of escalating the situation in the region. Iran has been conducting military exercises near the Nakhchivan border, while Azerbaijan, in conjunction with Turkey, has been holding exercises in Nakhchivan itself.

The fact of Iranian military exercises did not sit well with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who, in an interview with the Turkish Anadolu Agency on September 27, stated that Iran's previous and current military drills had been “unexpected” and had an unprecedented nature over the past 30 years.

“Why now? Why right at our border? Those questions are posed by the Azerbaijani public, not me,” Aliyev noted.

Previously, the Azerbaijani President had expressed his discontent regarding the passage of Iranian trucks in Nagorno-Karabakh, claiming that Tehran was not respecting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, addressing Aliyev's interview, stated that Tehran was surprised by the statements from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and would not tolerate the presence of Israeli forces near its borders.

“When the relations between the two countries are good and built on mutual respect, and there are channels of communication at the highest level between the two sides, such expressions provoke astonishment,” Khatibzadeh stated.

He emphasized that military exercises near Azerbaijan’s border are “related to sovereignty issues and are carried out in the interests of stability throughout the region.” According to him, Iran will not tolerate the presence of Zionist forces near its borders and will take any necessary action to ensure its national security.