Sides are forming around the Iran vs Azerbaijan squabble. But this fight is not about ethnicity, religion or tribe – it is mainly about who gets to forge the region’s new transportation routes.
By Pepe Escobar posted with permission and cross-posted with The Cradle
The last thing the complex, work-in-progress drive towards Eurasian integration needs at this stage is this messy affair between Iran and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus.
Let’s start with the Conquerors of Khaybar – the largest Iranian military exercise in two decades held on its northwestern border with Azerbaijan.
Among the deployed Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units there are some serious players, such as the 21st Tabriz Infantry Division, the IRGC Ashura 31 battalion, the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade and an array of missile systems, including the Fateh-313 and Zulfiqar ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 700 kilometers.
The official explanation is that the drills are a warning to enemies plotting anything against the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei pointedly tweeted that “those who are under the illusion of relying on others, think that they can provide their own security, should know that they will soon take a slap, they will regret this.”
The message was unmistakable: this was about Azerbaijan relying on Turkey and especially Israel for its security, and about Tel Aviv instrumentalizing Baku for an intel drive leading to interference in northern Iran.
Further elaboration by Iranian experts went as far as Israel eventually using military bases in Azerbaijan to strike at Iranian nuclear installations.
The reaction to the Iranian military exercise so far is a predictable Turkey–Azerbaijani response: they are conducting a joint drill in Nakhchivan throughout this week.
But were Iran’s concerns off the mark? A close security collaboration between Baku and Tel Aviv has been developing for years now. Azerbaijan today possesses Israeli drones and is cozy with both the CIA and the Turkish military. Throw in the recent trilateral military drills involving Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan – these are developments bound to raise alarm bells in Tehran.
Baku, of course, spins it in a different manner: Our partnerships are not aimed at third countries.
So, essentially, while Tehran accuses Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev of making life easy for Takfiri terrorists and Zionists, Baku accuses Tehran of blindly supporting Armenia. Yes, the ghosts of the recent Karabakh war are all over the place.
As a matter of national security, Tehran simply cannot tolerate Israeli companies involved in the reconstruction of regions won in the war near the Iranian border: Fuzuli, Jabrayil, and Zangilan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian has tried to play it diplomatically: “Geopolitical issues around our borders are important for us. Azerbaijan is a dear neighbor to Iran and that’s why we don’t want it to be trapped between foreign terrorists who are turning their soil into a hotbed.”
As if this was not complicated enough, the heart of the matter – as with all things in Eurasia – actually revolves around economic connectivity.
An interconnected mess
Baku’s geoeconomic dreams are hefty: the capital city aims to position itself at the key crossroads of two of the most important Eurasian corridors: North-South and East-West.
And that’s where the Zangezur Corridor comes in – arguably essential for Baku to predominate over Iran’s East-West connectivity routes.
The corridor is intended to connect western Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Armenia, with roads and railways passing through the Zangezur region.
Zangezur is also essential for Iran to connect itself with Armenia, Russia, and further on down the road, to Europe.
China and India will also rely on Zangezur for trade, as the corridor provides a significant shortcut in distance. Considering large Asian cargo ships cannot sail the Caspian Sea, they usually waste precious weeks just to reach Russia.
An extra problem is that Baku has recently started harassing Iranian truckers in transit through these new annexed regions on their way to Armenia.
It didn’t have to be this way. This detailed essay shows how Azerbaijan and Iran are linked by “deep historical, cultural, religious, and ethno-linguistic ties,” and how the four northwestern Iranian provinces – Gilan, Ardabil, East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan – have “common geographical borders with both the main part of Azerbaijan and its exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic; they also have deep and close commonalities based on Islam and Shiism, as well as sharing the Azerbaijani culture and language. All this has provided the ground for closeness between the citizens of the regions on both sides of the border.”
During the Rouhani years, relations with Aliyev were actually quite good, including the Iran‑Azerbaijan‑Russia and Iran‑Azerbaijan‑Turkey trilateral cooperation.
A key connectivity at play ahead is the project of linking the Qazvin‑Rasht‑Astara railway in Iran to Azerbaijan: that’s part of the all-important International North‑South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Geoeconomically, Azerbaijan is essential for the main railway that will eventually run from India to Russia. No only that; the Iran‑Azerbaijan‑Russia trilateral cooperation opens a direct road for Iran to fully connect with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
In an optimal scenario, Baku can even help Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to connect to Georgian ports in the Black Sea.
The West is oblivious to the fact that virtually all sections of the INSTC are already working. Take, for instance, the exquisitely named Astara‑Astara railway connecting Iranian and Azerbaijani cities that share the same name. Or the Rasht‑Qazvin railway.
But then one important 130km stretch from Astara to Rasht, which is on the southern shore of the Caspian and is close to the Iranian–Azeri border, has not been built. The reason? Trump-era sanctions. That’s a graphic example of how much, in real-life practical terms, rides on a successful conclusion of the JCPOA talks in Vienna.
Who owns Zangezur?
Iran is positioned in a somewhat tricky patch along the southern periphery of the South Caucasus. The three major players in that hood are of course Iran, Russia, and Turkey. Iran borders the former Armenian – now Azeri – regions adjacent to Karabakh, including Zangilan, Jabrayil and Fuzuli.
It was clear that Iran’s flexibility on its northern border would be tied to the outcome of the Second Karabakh War. The northwestern border was a source of major concern, affecting the provinces of Ardabil and eastern Azerbaijan – which makes Tehran’s official position of supporting Azerbaijani over Armenian claims all the more confusing.
It is essential to remember that even in the Karabakh crisis in the early 1990s, Tehran recognized Nagorno‑Karabakh and the regions surrounding it as integral parts of Azerbaijan.
While both the CIA and Mossad appear oblivious to this recent regional history, it will never deter them from jumping into the fray to play Baku and Tehran against each other.
An extra complicating factor is that Zangezur is also mouth-watering from Ankara’s vantage point.
Arguably, Turkey’s neo-Ottoman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who never shies away from an opportunity to expands his Turkic-Muslim strategic depth, is looking to use the Azeri connection in Zangezur to reach the Caspian, then Turkmenistan, all the way to Xinjiang, the Uyghur Muslim populated western territory of China. This, in theory, could become a sort of Turkish Silk Road bypassing Iran – with the ominous possibility of also being used as a rat line to export Takfiris from Idlib all the way to Afghanistan.
Tehran, meanwhile, is totally INSTC-driven, focusing on two railway lines to be rehabilitated and upgraded from the Soviet era. One is South-North, from Jolfa connecting to Nakhchivan and then onwards to Yerevan and Tblisi. The other is West-East, again from Jolfa to Nakhchivan, crossing southern Armenia, mainland Azerbaijan, all the way to Baku and then onward to Russia.
And there’s the rub. The Azeris interpret the tripartite document resolving the Karabakh war as giving them the right to establish the Zangezur corridor. The Armenians for their part dispute exactly which ‘corridor’ applies to each particular region. Before they clear up these ambiguities, all those elaborate Iranian and Tukish connectivity plans are effectively suspended.
The fact, though, remains that Azerbaijan is geoeconomically bound to become a key crossroads of trans-regional connectivity as soon as Armenia unblocks the construction of these transport corridors.
So which ‘win-win’ is it?
Will diplomacy win in the South Caucasus? It must. The problem is both Baku and Tehran frame it in terms of exercising their sovereignty – and don’t seem particularly predisposed to offer concessions.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects are having a ball exploiting those differences. War, though, is out of the question, either between Azerbaijan and Armenia or between Azerbaijan and Iran. Tehran is more than aware that in this case both Ankara and Tel Aviv would support Baku. It is easy to see who would profit from it.
As recently as April, in a conference in Baku, Aliyev stressed that “Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Iran share the same approach to regional cooperation. The main area of concentration now is transportation, because it’s a situation which is called ‘win‑win.’ Everybody wins from that.”
And that brings us to the fact that if the current stalemate persists, the top victim will be the INSTC. In fact, everyone loses in terms of Eurasian integration, including India and Russia.
The Pakistan angle, floated by a few in hush-hush mode, is completely far-fetched. There’s no evidence Tehran would be supporting an anti-Taliban drive in Afghanistan just to undermine Pakistan’s ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The Russia–China strategic partnership looks at the current South Caucasus juncture as unnecessary trouble, especially after the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. This badly hurts their complementary Eurasian integration strategies – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
INSTC could, of course, go the trans-Caspian way and cut off Azerbaijan altogether. This is not likely though. China’s reaction, once again, will be the deciding factor. There could be more emphasis on the Persian corridor – from Xinjiang, via Pakistan and Afghanistan, to Iran. Or Beijing could equally bet on both East-West corridors, that is, bet on both Azerbaijan and Iran.
The bottom line is that neither Moscow nor Beijing wants this to fester. There will be serious diplomatic moves ahead, as they both know the only ones to profit will be the usual NATO-centric suspects, and the losers will be all the players who are seriously invested in Eurasian integration.
“Baku accuses Tehran of blindly supporting Armenia. Yes, the ghosts of the recent Karabakh war are all over the place.”
This is just more nonsense from Baku. Iran did not support Armenia in the Karabakh war, which in my opinion, was a mistake. And Iran is paying for that mistake today.
“In an optimal scenario, Baku can even help Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to connect to Georgian ports in the Black Sea.”
You seem to have missed the news about Iran’s Persian Gulf to Black Sea road, which is set to go through Armenia, and is nearly complete, with only 15kms left to go.
Also, you seem to be overestimating the Republic of Baku and its power and importance.
“But then one important 130km stretch from Astara to Rasht, which is on the southern shore of the Caspian and is close to the Iranian–Azeri border, has not been built. The reason? Trump-era sanctions.”
Sanctions have nothing to do with Iran’s ability to construct 130kms of railroad. You are either seriously underestimating Iran, or there is something else going on here.
“That’s a graphic example of how much, in real-life practical terms, rides on a successful conclusion of the JCPOA talks in Vienna.”
Ah, so that’s what’s going on. You are now a proponent of the JCPOA. I hate to break it to you, but at this point it doesn’t seem like that deal will ever be revived, but hey, who knows, anything could happen.
“..which makes Tehran’s official position of supporting Azerbaijani over Armenian claims all the more confusing.
It is essential to remember that even in the Karabakh crisis in the early 1990s, Tehran recognized Nagorno‑Karabakh and the regions surrounding it as integral parts of Azerbaijan.”
Indeed, I for one am confused by Tehran’s decision to repeatedly support Baku in this issue. But what is more surprising is the statement which you quote from Baku about Iranian blind support for Armenia.
“This, in theory, could become a sort of Turkish Silk Road bypassing Iran – with the ominous possibility of also being used as a rat line to export Takfiris from Idlib all the way to Afghanistan.”
That is exactly the plan: ie. cut off Iran from Armenia, which will then make Azerbaijan as important as you are currently making them out to be. But as things stand right now, and with the Gilan railway incomplete and in limbo because of ‘sanctions’, Iran is the keystone in the North-South corridor, not Azerbaijan. Unless the path will go across the Caspian to Turkmenistan, and then south through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean, which is preposterous.
Currently, as Armenia enjoys a fully Zionist dominated government, Azerbaijan and Turkey could in theory take all of Armenia and annex it to Azerbaijan, and the Armenian government would probably do nothing. That is why Iran has made it clear that this time around, Armenia’s weakness will not be allowed to result in more land grabs by the Turks, and the border between Iran and Armenia is the red line, which if crossed, will be met with decisive action.
“The fact, though, remains that Azerbaijan is geoeconomically bound to become a key crossroads of trans-regional connectivity as soon as Armenia unblocks the construction of these transport corridors.”
What Baku is bound to become, remains to be seen. If Baku’ territories become a terrorist and Zionist hotbed, all that it is bound to become, is a pile of rubble.
“Will diplomacy win in the South Caucasus? It must. The problem is both Baku and Tehran frame it in terms of exercising their sovereignty – and don’t seem particularly predisposed to offer concessions.”
I feel like your overall tone betrays the fact that you are peeved, and more at Iran, for not choosing Eurasian integration over its national security. Baku is the one framing this in terms of sovereignty, ie. “we want to have relations with the Israelis, and that is our sovereign right, and it is nobody’s business.”
“The Pakistan angle, floated by a few in hush-hush mode, is completely far-fetched. There’s no evidence Tehran would be supporting an anti-Taliban drive in Afghanistan just to undermine Pakistan’s ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
This is probably the first statement in this whole article, that I can get behind 100%. Iran has made no moves to hinder the Taliban. If anything, they have helped the Taliban quite a bit.
“The Russia–China strategic partnership looks at the current South Caucasus juncture as unnecessary trouble, especially after the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. This badly hurts their complementary Eurasian integration strategies – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Greater Eurasian Partnership.”
Look, can we all stop acting like cooperation with Israel is not bad? Iran is not the one bringing Israelis to the Caucasus region. When Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh, many in Iran saw it as an Israeli conspiracy which would open the door to Israelis coming into the region. Russia did not seem concerned about the Zionist aspect, as it never seems concerned about the Zionist aspect in anything, for some reason.
If China and Russia have a problem, they should take it up with the idiot who needlessly brought the Israelis into the equation, ffs.
Unnecessary trouble is the Zionist regime’s middle name. And any article that frames an issue which involves Zionist meddling, without calling out that malign meddling, completely misses the mark, in my opinion.
“INSTC could, of course, go the trans-Caspian way and cut off Azerbaijan altogether.”
INSTC could also go the Iran-Armenia-Georgia route, which is almost 100% complete as far as the roadwork is concerned.
Funny that sanctions don’t stop Iran from building roads in the Caucasus, but they stop Iran from building railroad tracks in a completely flat region like Gilan.
“The bottom line is that neither Moscow nor Beijing wants this to fester. There will be serious diplomatic moves ahead, as they both know the only ones to profit will be the usual NATO-centric suspects, and the losers will be all the players who are seriously invested in Eurasian integration.”
Good. Moscow and Beijing should make Azerbaijan tell the Israelis to take a hike, and all will be well with the world.
But to expect Iran to turn a blind eye to Zionist conspiracies on the Iranian border, for the sake of Eurasian integration, well, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
We will see what we will see, but I have a feeling that the ruling family in Baku does not have a very bright future ahead, which seems to be the trend with anyone who goes up against Iran.
The IRGC does not forget and it does not forgive. And it is not driven by nonsense like Eurasian integration, which is indeed nonsense compared to Iranian national security.
“Iran did not support Armenia in the Karabakh war, which in my opinion, was a mistake. And Iran is paying for that mistake today”.
Well, no one could have supported Armenia in this war because as you yourself note later
“Currently, as Armenia enjoys a fully Zionist dominated government, Azerbaijan and Turkey could in theory take all of Armenia and annex it to Azerbaijan, and the Armenian government would probably do nothing”.
That’s exactly what the Armenian government did in the last war – nothing! Pashinyan, Soro’s = Israel’s man, handed over the territories to the Turks.
There was nothing which Iran or even Russia could do about this
There is a big problem in asserting that Iran did not support Armenia in the war and its occupation and that is the pictures, videos and other open source material showing military ordinance being transported into Armenia from Iran to support the occupation of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory (which was indeed recognised by Tehran and Moscow). This, unfortunately for the Armenians, was quickly turned into rust by the Turkish and Israeli drones. So there is the answer to all of you who do not understand Iran’s position: Iran formally and overtly supported Azerbaijan’s position but covertly aided the Armenians during the occupation and war. Hence, Azerbaijani anger at Tehran. The various comments support this fact by explaining why it was in Tehran’s interest to try to uphold the situation prior to the war to prevent an Azerbaijani victory. An Azerbaijani victory meant that Tehran’s policy in the Southern Caucasus would be in ruins: In supporting Armenia (covertly) Tehran helped bring both Israel and Turkey into the Southern Caucasus because Baku had no other option, if they were to reclaim their national territory, but to get the appropriate military help to assault a difficult highland terrain. This meant drones and highly trained special forces and only Ankara and Tel Aviv could supply this expertise. The hysteria in Iran is really sour grapes for backing the wrong horse and seeing a drastic rebalancing of the geopolitical landscape in the region as a consequence. But don’t worry – Azerbaijan has no intention of letting the Israelis use their territory against a neighbour. The Aliyev government is Russian (Heydar was a senior Politburo member and the family are all Russian educated) and communist/secular in origin and in no way tolerant of Salafists, who would be enemies of what Azerbaijan is – the most secular Muslim country in the world. The main article is right in that conflict between Baku and Tehran would only benefit Armenia and Israel. Conflict is not necessary and all is required is a readjustment and functional settlement that produces a region impervious to western interference – Aliyev’s 3+3 proposal (Az, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iran) What is there not to like about that?
“There is a big problem in asserting that Iran did not support Armenia in the war and its occupation and that is the pictures, videos and other open source material showing military ordinance being transported into Armenia from Iran to support the occupation of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory..”
It is customary to provide evidence when making such claims.
“Tehran helped bring both Israel and Turkey into the Southern Caucasus because Baku had no other option, if they were to reclaim their national territory, but to get the appropriate military help to assault a difficult highland terrain. This meant drones and highly trained special forces and only Ankara and Tel Aviv could supply this expertise.”
Turkey’s Neo-Ottoman ambitions and general imperial expansionist policies did not start with alleged Iranian support to Armenia. And Israel and Baku have had relations for years.
“In 2012, Israel and Azerbaijan signed an agreement according to which state-run Israel Aerospace Industries would sell $1.6 billion in drones and anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan. Some analysts consider that both Israel and Azerbaijan.”
So, Israeli drones were already in Baku long before any of this. I’m starting to smell hasbara.
“The hysteria in Iran is really sour grapes for backing the wrong horse and seeing a drastic rebalancing of the geopolitical landscape in the region as a consequence.”
There is no evidence that Iran supported Armenia in the conflict. Also, both horses here are Zionist-backed.
There will be no rebalancing of the geopolitical landscape in the region, drastic or otherwise. Feel free to come back here and tell me I was wrong, if anything changes in the Caucasus region.
“But don’t worry – Azerbaijan has no intention of letting the Israelis use their territory against a neighbour.”
How do you know that? Are you part of the Baku government? Or the Israeli regime?
“The Aliyev government is Russian (Heydar was a senior Politburo member and the family are all Russian educated) and communist/secular in origin..”
So, why did Aliyev not ask for Russian assistance to reclaim Artsakh?
“What is there not to like about that?”
I can see that Israel is offering Baku the whole package, ie. drones, takfiris, and hasbara.
https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-makes-massive-israeli-weapons-purchase-but-not-because-of-iran
“Azerbaijan has agreed to buy $1.6 billion in weapons from Israel, a massive deal that is likely Azerbaijan’s largest single arms purchase ever. The deal will include drones, anti-aircraft and missile defense systems, Israeli officials have told news agencies. The deal would be almost equal to Azerbaijan’s stated 2012 defense budget of $1.7 billion (though will certainly be spread out over many years).
The timing of the deal is misleading: regardless of the ongoing ratcheting up of tension between Israel and Iran, and increasing attention to Israel’s intelligence activities in Azerbaijan, these weapons are destined to be used not against Iran, but against Armenia, which controls the breakaway Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Though it’s tempting to think otherwise.”
I think this belongs here too, for future reference.
Totally agree. I think Pepe missed the real point here – Israeli meddling in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
What you seem to forget Anonymous is the mentality that still exists somewhat in the Anglo-Zionist-Western corridors of Power, that Iran has only temporarily ‘leased back its oilfields’. lol
China’s long term commitments to Iran and soon likely something similar with Russia will provide Iran additional security from US-Zionist/Wahhabi skulduggery.
As you touched upon, Russia/Putin must be wary of The Zionist Oligarch 5th Column in their country, by allowing IsIsrael carte blanche to bomb its ally Syria (although the main targets are Iranian aligned ).
“And there’s the rub. The Azeris interpret the tripartite document resolving the Karabakh war as giving them the right to establish the Zangezur corridor.”
There were two “corridors” in the peace agreement that ended the war Armenia- Azerbaijan war.
1. Lachin: Azeri territory, that Armenia is allowed to use to connect with the NK enclave.
2. Zargezur: Armenian territory, that Azeris are allowed to use connect to the Nakhichevan enclave.
If the Azeris want Zargezur, are they willing to trade Lachin? Given their rhetoric probably not…it looks like the war will re-start in that area.
And instability on Iranian & Russian borders continues..
[An extra problem is that Baku has recently started harassing Iranian truckers in transit through these new annexed regions on their way to Armenia.]
This is part of the zionist plan to make Iranian border unsuitable with Erdogan’s help, and blessing of US and Israel.
The zionists want to bring chaos to Iranian borders, that’s why they are crying for a war based on ethnicity in Afghanistan where Bernard Henri Levy, a zionist terrorist, is helping Tajik Ahmad Massoud. If you check the twitter of the rabid zionists like Mark Dubowitz, from FDD, Denis Ross and others, you will see that all are supporting Massoud against Taliban. Tajikistan has been made the army headquarter. But Iran is against any war in the region.
Iran has every single right to stop zionist presene in Azerbaijan. Israel is bombing Syria every single day using an accusation of Iranian presence and Putin does nothing and go along with the zionist mass murderers. Thus, Iran should be firmed with Ilham Aliyev who allows Israel and its agent BRENDA SHAFFER, a Mossad agent, to operate in Azarbaijan, advising how to strike an ethnic tension according to Oded Yinon, while making millions of dollars out of Azerbaijan’s oil money to help Aliyev, a DICTATOR, keep his thrown and steal more millions from Azaris’ oil money.
Recently, we were informed that Aliyev has an investment over $500 millions in UK, in addition selling property to ‘queen’ over $130 millions. Do you think he can be this much corrupt without the help of the Jewish mafia who has control over UK?
Brenda Shaffer, who lived and studied in Israel and worked for Israeli government is a Mossad operative, poses as ‘professor’ using American academic system, like Harvard University, as front, works as a FOREIGN Country lobbyist, Azerbaijan, She is not only cashing in millions of dollars from Azerbaijan oil money but she as a Mossad agent perusing ODED YINON strategy as a ‘road map’ against Iran from Azerbaijan for Israel to destabilize Iranian borders.
Brenda Shaffer, has written a book,’Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity,’ which is a propaganda tool and a ‘road map’ for Oded Yinon in the Central Asia for the interest of Israel against Iran.
Ken Silverstein, of Harpers Magazine, in an article titled “Academics for Hire”, comments:
[Evan Siegel strongly criticizes the book ‘Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity”, states: “The book for being full of mistakes, inaccuracies, misinterpretation, and misquoting of sources and the book’s failure to provide documentations to support Shaffer’s observations.]
In conclusion Evan Siegel adds: “Brethren and Borders is a highly political book on an emotional subject which needs careful, dispassionate analysis.”
Israel presence in Azerbaijan will let to toppling of DICTATOR, Aliyev. Both Ilham Aliyev and Erdogan are zionist mass murderers and supported by US and Israel. Erdogan still has part of Syria under his occupation, and as usual, Putin is doing nothing, like the case of Israel.
Thanks for commenting.
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2021/10/6/iran-concerned-by-israeli-presence-in-the-caucasus — “Iran’s new FM, in Moscow for talks, said Tehran ‘will not tolerate geopolitical change and map change in the Caucasus’.”
And also,
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/6/iran-looking-for-big-jump-in-relations-after-moscow-talks
“Tehran, Iran – Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said Iran is after a “big jump in relations” with Russia as he prepares to hold talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Amirabdollahian, after touching down in Moscow on Tuesday, said the government of President Ebrahim Raisi is ready to quickly expand ties with Russia based on a foreign policy that seeks the same across the region.”
The new Iranian FM is a very sharp and astute fellow. He makes Javad Zarif look like a little turd, and he is with the pro-IRGC camp, as opposed to Zarif, who probably danced with joy when Soleimani was murdered.
The situation with Azerbaijan is quite complex. It is a true demonstration of the Israeli art of creating complex crisis situations. But I think if anyone can solve this thing diplomatically, it is Amirabdollahian and Lavrov.
I agree that Erdogan and Aliyev are both backed by the Zionists, but I have to give Putin credit where it is due; if Russia wasn’t in Syria, Iran would have had to fight a much more bold and aggressive Turkey, working together with Israel, and whoever else they could have gotten to join them, and who knows how that would have turned out?
Russian presence in Syria is what made it possible for the IRGC and the Syrian Army to win the war. And the war has been won, mind you. Soleimani was murdered precisely because he won the war in Syria, even though the US and Israel thought it was impossible for them to lose.
Turkey will leave Syria, this is almost certain.
And the Israeli strikes against Syria are mostly for Israeli domestic consumption, and their damage to the Resistance is minimal.
The Syrian Army has recently retaken Daraa, and they are now right next to the Golan Heights. Last week, terrorist positions in Idlib were struck very severely and extensively, by the Syrian Army, with massive rocket barrages. And Russia continues to conduct airstrikes against terrorist positions. It seems like they have the situation under control there.
The real crux of the issue here is the power of the Global Zionist Entity to corrupt politicians like Aliyev and Pashiniyan, and subvert and commandeer societies and governments which would otherwise be democratic, ie. the will of the native people would prevailing there, not the will of Israel. Even an independent dictator would be a better ruler for his own country, than a Zionist puppet politician.
In Azerbaijan, as in Bahrain, the will of the majority is to not have anything to do with Israel, but the ruling dictatorial regimes there have official ties to the Zionist regime, where in the case of Bahrain, it is a very recent development, and calls by the Bahraini people to hold a referendum were completely ignored by the ruling family.
When Anwar Sadat sold out to the Israelis, the Egyptian people were so upset, that they executed him revolutionary style. But alas, Egypt continues to have official relations with Israel.
Billionaire Jews with power and influence in many countries are pulling the strings of these dictators in Azerbaijan, where Aliyev has been in power since 2003, in Bahrain, which also has a ruling dynasty, and in Egypt, where Sisi is the Zionist-installed dictator. Even half way across the world in the US or Canada or Australia, they have corrupt idiots in office, doing their bidding. So, it is really no surprise that politicians in small poor countries are afflicted with Global Zionism.
The question here is not whether Iran should trade its national security for Eurasian integration. The real question is, what can Russia and China do to overcome tiny Azerbaijan and Armenia — backed by the Global Zionist Entity — to achieve their ambitions with INSTC, Eurasian integration, etc?
[The real question is, what can Russia and China do to overcome tiny Azerbaijan and Armenia — backed by the Global Zionist Entity — to achieve their ambitions with INSTC, Eurasian integration, etc?]
Agree!
Yes, well, that was a rhetorical question. Russia and China can do exactly nothing against their Zionist ally. But while we wait to see what they can or cannot do, Iran has revealed the following:
https://ifpnews.com/iran-azerbaijan-republic-to-be-removed-from-transit-route-to-europe
“Iran’s Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Kheirollah Khademi has announced that the Republic of Azerbaijan will be removed from Iran’s transit route to Europe.”
Iran has been watching Ankara and Baku’s movements in the region very closely for some time now, and this alternate road has been prepared, which is almost ready now, right on time.
This leaves Erdogan and Aliyev with only one option, that is to capture Zangezur through illegal and illegitimate military action.
According to the IRGC’s assessment, there are currently about 1000 Israeli security personnel stationed in the broader region around Zangezur.
And then there is also the matter of Qare Su, which is a very narrow strip of land (3.5km wide) that connects Turkey to the Nakhchivan enclave, exactly where the Northwest point of Iran meets Armenia, to the West of Zangezur. It is barely visible on most maps, because it is so narrow. That little corridor was given to Turkey by Reza Shah, in one of his more corrupt and un-nationalistic acts of treason against Iran.
Now, there has been talk of returning that little strip of land to Iran in recent weeks, in which case, Turkey will be cut off from Baku, and Erdogan’s dreams of pan-Turkism will take a very heavy blow.
The overall picture, which Baku and Ankara have been made fully aware of I believe, implies that it is in the Turks’ best interest to maintain the current status quo, and not go on adventures whose outcomes are unknown.
The bottom line is, Baku can either be part of Iran’s transit route to Europe, or they can be excluded from that route altogether.
Now we wait to see Erdogan and Aliyev’s next move.
Sorry Amarynth, I discovered later that there’s a thread on Iran Azerbaijan crisis. Hope you pardon my oversight.
The Zionist instigated Turkey/Azerbaijan vs Iran border crossing (non)issue, has things calm down?
With Iran Attorney general visiting Yerevan and meeting with Pashian, is Iran entering into a strategic partnership with Armenia?
Though the diplomatic path seems to be working fine especially with Abdollahian in charge of the FM and a visit by Armed forces chief of staff visit to Pakistan, can you explain Pakistan endgame by antagonizing Iran?
Though Iran have developed a knack for always coming out on top in such crisis, but this seems to be different with three major border countries of Iran trying to put her in a conundrum. Don’t you think this could sabotage the delicate economic recovery of Iran which president Raisi seems to be doing a good job putting it back on track?
I hope this get to you @Anonymous.
Check my “comment thread” on the “Iran’s SCO promotion & the rise of a new world order: Report” article. The last comment on that thread contains the latest update on the Iran-Baku situation.
/irans-sco-promotion-the-rise-of-a-new-world-order-report/#comment-982672
Cheers