Azeris should be scared of Israeli regime not Iran, Tehran says after Baku travel advisory
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman reacted to a recent travel warning issued by Baku against Iran, insisting what the Azeri people should be afraid of is the "Zionist regime" and not the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In tweets on Monday, Nasser Kan’ani emphasized that the country remains committed to a visa waiver with Azerbaijan despite Baku’s travel advisory.
“Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has warned its citizens against traveling to Iran! This is the same policy adopted by the president of the fake, child-killing, and occupying Zionist regime during his recent trip to Baku,” he wrote in the Persian language.
“The one that the people of Azerbaijan should be frightened of is the Zionist regime not the civilized and Islamic Iran,” he said.
Late last month, Israeli president Isaac Herzog traveled to Azerbaijan. After a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, Herzog said the two spoke in depth about global and regional security claiming that it is “endangered and threatened by Iran.”
Kan’ani also noted that Iran sticks to the policy of good neighborliness within the framework of mutual respect. “Our policy is still visa waiver and open arms to our Azeri brothers and sisters,” he added.
Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran were strained in January following an attack on the Eurasian country’s embassy in Tehran. Politicizing the incident, Azerbaijan closed its diplomatic mission and evacuated staff over what it falsely described as a “terrorist act,” with President Ilham Aliyev blaming it on the “Iranian establishment.”
This is while an initial investigation pointed to “personal and family-related problems” as the motive of the assailant.
In a statement released on Saturday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry again tried to portray the incident as a "terrorist attack", calling on Azeri citizens “not to visit Iran unless absolutely necessary” and advising travelers to exercise “extra caution.” It also asked Azeri citizens, who are now in Iran, to observe security measures more than before.
Meanwhile, some reports claimed that all flights from Baku to Tehran had been canceled but Heydar Aliyev International Airport denied the reports.
Azerbaijan's anti-Iranian position comes as the Eurasian country is boosting ties with the Israeli regime. Tehran has slammed Baku for its partnership with the occupying regime in efforts to establish a united front against Iran.
The Zionist regime supplies nearly 70 percent of Azerbaijan's weaponry and in return receives about half of its imported oil from Baku.
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