In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Mehdi Khorsand said: Relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan date back to the independence of that country from the Soviet Union, and Iran was among the first countries to recognize independence of that country.
Khorsand further explained: The history of relations and of course the ideological and geopolitical affinities of the two countries have caused many security, political, economic and social benefits for both countries to be defined in bilateral relations.
According to the expert, the peak of this relationship can be seen in the war between the two countries of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia over the issue of Karabakh, which was broke out between the two sides in 1991 and 1992, and as evidenced by the positions of our country’s military, Iran provided a lot of advisory assistance to Baku and that caused the Republic of Azerbaijan not to suffer a heavy defeat.
Khorsand stated that during the past 30 years, relations between the two countries have been overshadowed by interventionist variables such as the Zionist regime and Western countries, adding: Those issues have caused the Republic of Azerbaijan to always be in security misunderstandings in its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Unfortunately, sometimes there are claims that the ground is prepared for the invasion of Iran’s geography from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has caused the deepening of misunderstandings between the two sides.
He added: But after Iran’s clear and transparent positions in the 2020 Karabakh war, which again supported the Republic of Azerbaijan and the liberation of the occupied territories of Karabakh, Baku is trying to reduce its hostility to the lowest possible level; but still, relations between the two countries are sometimes overshadowed by external and interfering factors and variables such as the Zionist regime.
The expert on Eurasia affairs explained the importance of security-military cooperation between Tehran and Baku, noting: The Republic of Azerbaijan has always faced security concerns due to its special geopolitical situation and being in tension with Armenia and the separation of Nakhchivan region from the mainland during its 30 years of independence and despite the fact that Iran has extended its hand of friendship and brotherhood to Baku in the development of security and economic relations, this hand of friendship has always been met with imprudence from the other side.
He added: However, in the past one or two years, due to the change in regional equations and concentration of Iran, and Tehran’s greater attention to its northwestern borders and the Supreme Leader of the Revolution’s emphasis on the necessity of not changing the borders of the region in the South Caucasus, the Republic of Azerbaijan has realized the level of influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has come to the understanding that if Iran’s interests in this region are threatened, Iran will never accept it, and the interests of Baku, which suffers from weak geopolitics and is always under geopolitical threats, requires that it should have more serious interactions with its bigger neighbor, that is Iran.
According to the expert, this important issue has caused that by the end of 2021 and in 2022 we witness a change of approach in Baku towards its interaction with the Islamic Republic of Iran and this issue also made us witness an increase in cooperation, especially in the military field, between the two countries.
Regarding the history of military cooperation between the two countries, Khorsand said: The first experience of cooperation between the two countries in the military field dates back to the bloody war between Baku and Yerevan over the Karabakh issue in 1991, when after the official request of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran provided Baku with advisory assistance and since then, those collaborations have been going on at different levels and with ups and downs.
Explaining the future of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, the expert on Eurasia affairs said: It is very important to mention that the Republic of Azerbaijan, due to Tehran’s focus on developing relations with its neighbors, sees its prosperity and progress in attracting the attention of its bigger neighbor, Iran; therefore, due to the type of economic interactions defined between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the future we will witness the development of economic cooperation and the achievement of stronger cooperation in security, social and political fields between the two countries.