A Iranian drone attack has targeted Azerbaijan’s autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, opening yet another front in the ongoing war launched y the United States and Israel and the retaliation from Tehran, according to Azeri authorities.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the incident occurred at about 12 noon (08:00 GMT) on Thursday.

“One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad,” the ministry said.

“We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

It added that the attack injured two civilians and caused material damage at the airport.

The ministry demanded “a clear explanation” from Iran and said the country “reserves the right to take appropriate response measures”.

It has summoned Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilou over the incident.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later denied that the country had targeted Azerbaijan.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan,” said Gharibabadi in comments carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “We do not target our neighbouring countries.”

“Iran’s policy is only to strike the military bases of its enemies” that are active in the region and used to attack Iran, including those of the US and Israel, he added.

Nakhchivan, bordering Iran and Turkiye, was part of a historic US brokered peace deal signed last year between former deadly foes Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The land corridor, dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), gave the US development rights for the proposed route connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and creating a passage between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Iran has long opposed the planned transit route, also known as the Zangezur corridor, fearing it would cut the country off from Armenia and the rest of the Caucasus while bringing potentially hostile foreign forces close to its borders.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said, “Iran has long been accusing the Azeri government of turning Azerbaijan into an Israeli spy base.”

“They are accusing [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev of undermining Iran’s security from its northern border,” Serdar added. “Iran said multiple times that if Azerbaijan did not stop, it would be punished.”

Serdar said Thursday’s drone strikes were sending a clear message to the Azeri government. “Iran is engaging in a conflict with neighbouring countries,” he said, adding, “the Gulf, Turkiye and now Azerbaijan.”

[Aljazeera]

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