Tensions in Baku: Analyst Comments

Expert on Azerbaijan Tatvik Hayrapetyan has posted a comment highlighting the growing tensions in Baku. According to Azerbaijan's ruling party MP Siyavush Novruzov: "Iran has mobilized troops near the Nakhchivan region, and we are prepared to engage in conflict there. Azerbaijan today is not the Azerbaijan of the 90s. Today, Azerbaijan is a strong state with a powerful leader. We also have sufficient strength and capabilities."

Additionally, MP Rasim Musabekov suggested the deployment of Turkish F-16 fighter jets in the occupied Kovsakan (Zangelan) to deter what he describes as the Iranian mullahs' regime, which tends to engage in military provocations and terrorist activities.

Azerbaijan seems to behave as if Iran has taken some action against it; they appear agitated even by exercise drills that haven’t yet occurred. What proposals might emerge from Baku if such drills take place?

Interestingly, Azerbaijan conducts approximately one hundred individual and joint military exercises annually, including those near the Iranian border, yet it appears that these activities are acceptable for them, while Iran’s activities are framed as having 'terrorist tendencies.' Iran remains a significant deterrent factor against Azerbaijan's aggression, which has led to the current stirrings in Baku.