TEHRAN -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the ambassador of Azerbaijan to protest the continuation of anti-Iran propaganda and media misinformation about the Islamic Republic by the country’s officials and media.
The Iranian foreign minister’s aide and director general of the ministry’s Eurasia Department conveyed to Azeri Ambassador to Iran Ali Alizadeh on Thursday the Islamic Republic’s dissatisfaction with and strong protest at the “unfriendly” statements by the high-ranking officials of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the country’s media misinformation about Iran.
“We expect that this practice will end as soon as possible and necessary measures will be taken to prevent its repetition,” the Iranian foreign minister’s aide told the Azeri envoy.
Alizadeh, for his part, expressed regret about the situation and said he would immediately convey the Islamic Republic’s protest to Baku.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev criticized on Tuesday a recent drill by the Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force in northwestern border regions with the participation of various units. The drill, codenamed the IRGC Ground Force’s Authority, was carried out in Aras region, which covers the northern sectors of East Azarbaijan and Ardabil provinces and lies along the country’s northwestern borders.
Aliyev has also expressed dissatisfaction with recent back-to-back meetings between Iranian and Armenian officials, accusing Tehran of showing excessive support for Yerevan.
This also came against the backdrop of continued tension between Armenia and its estranged neighbor Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been populated by ethnic Armenians.
The Islamic Republic has invariably placed emphasis on the need for the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the two neighbors’ respect for each other’s territorial integrity.