Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev criticized Iran for a slew of alleged affronts, in a sign of mounting tension between the neighbors, including a jibe by a preacher accusing Baku of conspiring with Israel.
“The cleric from the city of Ardabil has repeatedly used insulting expressions against Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani people and me,” Aliyev said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Referring to Seyyed Hassan Ameli, the Friday Prayer Leader of Ardabil, Aliyev questioned Iran's leadership, asking, “What is his reaction, does he support this or not, and who will apologize to Azerbaijan? Will they apologize or not?”
The controversy stems from a recent event broadcast on IRIB News, where a local eulogist insulted both Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, alleging that Aliyev had engaged in a "multi-billion dollar gamble with the Israelis", with whom Baku has good relations.
In December, Azerbaijan’s ministry of foreign affairs summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Baku to formally protest the incident.
A day after Aliyev's remarks, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived in Baku for what Iranian media described as "security diplomacy aimed at strengthening political-security relations with South Caucasus countries."
Ahmadian is expected to meet with President Aliyev and Azerbaijani officials before continuing to Yerevan for discussions with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Long-standing disputes and security concerns
Aliyev's criticism extended to broader grievances, including Iran's facilitation of fuel transfers to Nagorno-Karabakh via Armenia, which Azerbaijan considers a violation of its sovereignty.
“We began to see that fuel trucks from Iran were regularly making trips to Karabakh from Armenia,” Aliyev said. After private efforts to stop the shipments failed, Azerbaijan made the issue public, exposing what Aliyev described as sloppy forgeries involving fake Armenian license plates on Iranian vehicles.
The Azerbaijani leader also criticized Iranian military exercises near their shared border, which he viewed as an attempt at intimidation. “If any military training is held on our border, we did the same on this side. We showed that we are not afraid of anyone,” he said.
Embassy attack and accountability
Aliyev revisited the January 2023 attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran, labeling it an organized terrorist act. He pointed to a delayed police response and the immediate declaration of the assailant as mentally ill as evidence of a cover-up.
“We were officially promised...that the person would be sentenced to death,” Aliyev said. “But they deceived us again. The case was sent back to court for investigation. We know that death sentences in Iran are pronounced for less serious crimes and are immediately executed.”
Aliyev dismissed Iran’s expression of regret over the Ardebil cleric’s remarks as insufficient, demanding tangible consequences.
“We believe that the provincial mullah should be punished, at the very least dismissed from his post and made to apologize to Azerbaijan,” he said.
Aliyev’s remarks and Ahmadian’s visit to Baku highlight the complexity of Azerbaijan-Iran relations. While Ahmadian’s trip suggests Tehran’s interest in mitigating tensions, the outcomes of his discussions in Baku and Yerevan may shape the future trajectory of the strained ties.
