Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused Iran of committing a “terrorist act” against Azerbaijan following a drone attack targeting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council, Aliyev strongly condemned the incident and warned that those responsible would be held accountable.
“We will not tolerate this groundless terrorist act and aggression committed against Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani president says Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles were launched toward the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, targeting civilian infrastructure.
“Today, Iran committed a terrorist act against the territory of Azerbaijan and against the Azerbaijani state. The Iranian state launched unmanned aerial vehicles toward the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The targets of the attack were civilian facilities. The Azerbaijani state strongly condemns this ugly terrorist act, and those responsible must immediately be held accountable,” Aliyev stated.
He also demanded an explanation from Tehran, calling on Iranian officials to apologize and ensure that those responsible face criminal prosecution.
Aliyev added that Azerbaijan’s armed forces had been instructed to prepare and implement response measures.
At the same time, the Azerbaijani president stressed that Baku had not participated, is not participating, and does not intend to participate in any operations against Iran.
“We have neither the interest nor a policy that would allow us to conduct operations against neighboring countries,” Aliyev said.
However, he warned that those responsible for the attack would regret their actions.
“Those dishonorable people who committed this terrorist act against us will regret it. Those who once tried to test our strength were crushed by an iron fist. Today’s incident will bring the same result,” Aliyev declared.
Aliyev also reiterated that Azerbaijan would defend its territorial integrity.
“We protect and will continue to protect our territorial integrity. Just as we ended Armenia’s occupation, we are ready to demonstrate our strength against any evil force, and Iran must not forget this,” he said.
