TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Azerbaijan President Ilham Alliyev has demanded that Iran apologize after a drone attack targeted the Nakhchivan autonomous exclave, opening a new front in the ongoing war launched by the United States and Israel, with retaliation from Tehran.
Alliyev said on Thursday that those responsible should be held accountable after Nakhchivan was "subjected to cowardly fire." Two people were injured in the drone attack on Thursday in the exclave, which borders Iran and Turkey.
"The Azerbaijani state strongly condemns this ugly terrorist act, and those who committed it must be immediately held accountable," Alliyev said in a post on the presidential website, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Earlier, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a release that the incident occurred around midday.
"One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad," the ministry said.
"We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
It added that the attack injured two civilians and caused damage to the airport.
The ministry demanded "a clear explanation" from Iran and said the country "reserves the right to take appropriate response measures."
The ministry summoned Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilou regarding the incident.
Iran Denies Involvement
In a phone conversation with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized that Tehran was not behind the attack.
Araghchi hinted that Israel may be responsible, describing the attack in a statement on Telegram as "aimed at diverting public opinion and undermining Iran’s good relations with its neighbours."
Previously, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also denied that Iran was behind the attack.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan," Gharibabadi said in comments carried by Iran's Tasnim news agency. "We do not target our neighbouring countries."
"Iran’s policy is only to strike the military bases of its enemies that are active in the region and those bases that are used to attack Iran, including those of the U.S. and Israel," he added.
Denial of Attack on Turkey
On Wednesday, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense stated that a ballistic missile fired from Iran toward Turkish airspace was destroyed by a NATO air defense system over the eastern Mediterranean after passing through Syria and Iraq.
The Iranian armed forces issued a statement on Thursday denying that they had fired any missiles toward Turkish airspace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was "taking all the necessary precautions" in consultation with its NATO allies and issued "warnings in the clearest terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again."
Nakhchivan Agreement
Nakhchivan is part of a U.S.-mediated peace deal signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The land corridor, called the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity," gives the U.S. the right to develop a proposed route linking Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan exclave and creating a passage between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Iran has long opposed the planned transit route, also known as the Zangezur corridor, fearing it would cut off its connections to Armenia and other Caucasus regions, while potentially bringing potentially hostile foreign troops close to its borders.
Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar said, "Iran has long been accusing the Azeri government of turning Azerbaijan into an Israeli spy base."
"They are accusing Aliyev of undermining Iran’s security from its northern border," Serdar added. "Iran said multiple times that if Azerbaijan did not stop, it would be punished."
Drone Attacks in the Gulf Countries
More drones, claimed to be from Iran, were reported to have targeted countries across the region, including U.S. military bases near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
The Qatar Defense Ministry said its air defense system intercepted missile attacks, as several explosions were heard in the sky above Doha.
"Our Armed Forces successfully intercepted (13) missiles while the last one fell in the territorial waters of [the] State of Qatar," the ministry said in a statement, adding that four 'drones were successfully intercepted without casualties.'
The Saudi Defense Ministry said the latest drone sent to its airspace was shot down near the al-Jawf area. Meanwhile, Oman Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged.
Read: US Prepares for 100 Days of War Against Iran
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