Iran on Saturday issued a warning to the countries of the Caucasus to dial back their cooperation with foreign powers in the region, but stopped short of naming any countries.
“Powerful #Iran has always been benevolent to its neighbors & never posed a threat to them,” wrote Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, on Twitter. “Problems will be resolved with the cooperation of all countries in region [sic]. Any foreign influence is fruitless so we call on neighbors to be vigilant in this regard & to stay away from them.”
Iran’s warnings arrive amidst a backdrop of tension with neighbouring Azerbaijan, an ally of Turkey.
For weeks now, Iran has protested against Azerbaijan’s fining of Iranian truck drivers that travel across the the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan regained control of the province’s border with Iran during last year’s 44-day war with Armenia that saw it seize chunks of the disputed territory.
On September 27, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview that his country was “surprised” by Iranian military exercises taking place near its borders. He noted that the timing of the exercises, saying that no similar manuevers were held in the region. Aliyev acknowledged the issue of the Iranian truckers, but maintained that it was safeguarding Azeri sovereignty by enforcing its laws in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On September 30, Iran announced that it would be conducting another set of large exercises in the region. On October 3, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini addressed his “northwestern neighbours” in the Caucasus by urging them “avoid the presence of any foreign military forces.”
“We will continue to stand by our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters, with whom we are together in sorrow and joy, with all our means, as we have done so far,” the spokeswoman said.
Tehran has been unsettled by the amount of support Turkey extended to Azerbaijan during last year’s conflict. It has also been deeply concerned with the possibility that Israel, another ally of Azerbaijan, could build a military presence in the country. Israeli drones and munitions played a key part in Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia, together with Turkish armaments.
Israel and Turkey, for their part, continue to suffer from poor bilateral relations, despite their support for Azerbaijan. However, Baku has attempted to act as a mediator between the two in a bid to improve relations between its close partners.
Ahval