Azerbaijan and Iran Agree to Conduct Joint Military Exercises in the Caspian Sea

Azerbaijan and Iran's naval forces have agreed to carry out joint military exercises in the Caspian Sea. This was reported by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense's press service.

It was noted that the agreement was reached during a meeting between Admiral Subhan Bekirov, the commander of Azerbaijan's naval forces, and Mohammad Reza Khazai, the commander of Iran's naval operations. "The prospects for developing military cooperation between the naval forces of the two countries were also discussed," the website stated.

The timeline for the exercises was not specified.

It is important to recall that relations between the two countries have soured after Iran conducted large-scale exercises near Azerbaijan's borders. In January, an armed attack occurred on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, resulting in the death of the head of security and injuries to two other staff members. Following the incident, the Azerbaijani diplomatic mission discontinued its operations and evacuated embassy personnel.

Subsequently, an Iranian military aircraft violated Azerbaijan's airspace multiple times. Later, the foreign ministries of both countries exchanged notes accusing each other of aggressive rhetoric.

In April, Azerbaijani authorities declared four employees of the Iranian embassy in Baku as persona non grata, a move that was reciprocated by Iran. Operations were also conducted in Azerbaijan to identify agents working for Iranian intelligence services.