TEHRAN — Iran’s national army began exercises on Friday near its border with Azerbaijan, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and the occupying regime of Israel.
The exercises took place in open areas in northwestern Iran, said national television, which showed tanks, howitzers and helicopters firing at targets on the ground.
Iran occasionally holds such events to assesses combat readiness and demonstrate capabilities.
The exercises come amid escalating tensions along the border. Iran is wary of Azerbaijan in particular for its deep military cooperation with the Zionist regime and on Thursday voiced its concerns to Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran Ali Alizadeh.
“We do not tolerate the presence and activity against our national security of the Zionist regime next to our borders,” Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said. “And we will carry out any necessary action in this regard.”
Amir-Abdollahian described relations between Iran and Azerbaijan as “important,” but insisted Iran had the “right” to hold the exercises.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he was stunned by the planned exercises, in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Azerbaijan and the occupying regime of Israel have strengthened their military alliance in recent months, with Israeli-supplied high-tech drones helping Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.
The tensions with Azerbaijan have also complicated a vital border passage that trucks use to ferry fuel and other goods from Iran to Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities have detained two Iranian truck drivers in recent weeks for trying to take the route for ferrying goods to Karabakh, angering Iran.
Iran and Azerbaijan share a border of around 700 kilometers (430 miles).
Ground forces chief Gen. Kioumars Heidari described the presence of Israel in Azerbaijan as “disrupting security” in the region, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday. “Our sensitivity toward the border has increased and (Israel’s) activities here in under our surveillance completely,” he said at the exercises.
The military drills come after Azerbaijan hosted joint military exercises in September with Turkish and Pakistani special forces for the first time.
Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan on Friday voiced Tehran’s strong protest over an attack on its embassy in Baku, saying Tehran will seriously pursue the case until a result is achieved.
Abbas Mousavi said following the attack on the embassy the previous night and Iran’s protest through official channels, Azerbaijan’s diplomatic police and interior ministry have “identified, arrested and interrogated four” people in connection with the issue.