BAKU, Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan’s territory was not used for operations against Iran, Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev said during talks in Tehran, rejecting speculation that the country had been involved in attacks on its southern neighbor.
Mustafayev made the statement at a meeting with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Vesti Baku. He said Baku regards Iran as a friendly state.
The Azerbaijani official also cited President Ilham Aliyev’s position during the conflict between the United States and Iran. Aliyev called for an end to the fighting and the restoration of peace, Mustafayev said, describing that stance as consistent with the relationship between Baku and Tehran.
Security Talks in Tehran
Iranian officials used the meeting to present Tehran’s assessment of the conflict involving the United States and Israel. Rezaei said Iran’s conditions for ending the war had been communicated to Washington, a claim also carried Tuesday by Iranian state broadcaster Press TV and the West Asia News Agency.
Those assertions represent the Iranian government’s position. The United States and Iran remained at odds over the terms of a possible halt to the fighting, while indirect contacts continued through mediators.
The security meeting took place during a broader visit by an Azerbaijani delegation to Iran. The two sides had also discussed trade, transport, energy and joint regional projects. Mustafayev’s remarks were a separate public clarification of Baku’s position on the politically sensitive question of whether Azerbaijani territory had been used against Iran.
Azerbaijan shares a long border with Iran and has repeatedly said that its territory cannot be used by another country to threaten a neighboring state.