{"id":45665,"date":"2026-03-05T16:05:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=45665"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:57:31","slug":"iran-denies-targeting-azerbaijan-drones-nakhchivan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/iran-denies-targeting-azerbaijan-drones-nakhchivan\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Denies Targeting Azerbaijan After Drone Strikes in Nakhchivan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drones, allegedly from Iran, struck an airport terminal and near a school in Azerbaijan&#8217;s Nakhchivan region.<\/li>\n<li>Two civilians were reported injured in the incidents on Thursday, March 5, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Azerbaijan&#8217;s Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks and summoned Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilou for an explanation.<\/li>\n<li>Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied that Iran had targeted Azerbaijan.<\/li>\n<li>The incident occurs amidst a widening conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran across the Middle East.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tehran (Azat TV) \u2013 Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi on Thursday explicitly denied that Iran had targeted Azerbaijan, following accusations from Baku that Iranian drones struck its Nakhchivan exclave. The denial comes as Azerbaijan demanded an explanation for the drone incidents, which reportedly injured two civilians and hit an airport terminal, further escalating tensions in a region already grappling with a widening conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.<\/p>\n<h2>Azerbaijan Condemns Nakhchivan Drone Attacks<\/h2>\n<p>Azerbaijan&#8217;s Foreign Ministry confirmed that drones launched from Iran struck an airport in its Nakhchivan region on Thursday, March 5, 2026. According to the ministry, one drone crashed into the airport&#8217;s main terminal building, while another landed near a school, resulting in injuries to two civilians. Baku swiftly condemned the attacks, stating that the incident occurred around 12 noon (08:00 GMT) and reserving the right to take &#8216;appropriate response measures.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>In response to the alleged strikes, Azerbaijan summoned Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilou to demand &#8216;a clear explanation&#8217; for the incident. The Azerbaijani government views these actions as a serious breach of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security, particularly given the sensitive geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus.<\/p>\n<h2>Iran Issues Firm Denial Amidst Accusations<\/h2>\n<p>Hours after Azerbaijan&#8217;s accusations, Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi categorically denied any Iranian involvement in targeting its neighbor. In comments carried by Iran&#8217;s <em>Tasnim news agency<\/em>, Gharibabadi stated, &#8220;The Islamic Republic of Iran has not targeted the Republic of Azerbaijan.&#8221; This denial directly refutes Baku&#8217;s claims, creating a diplomatic standoff.<\/p>\n<p>The denial from Iran regarding Azerbaijan follows a similar pattern earlier on Thursday when Iran&#8217;s armed forces also issued a statement denying they had fired any missile towards Turkish territory. This broad denial suggests Iran&#8217;s efforts to control the narrative surrounding its military activities amidst increasing regional scrutiny and direct confrontation with U.S. and Israeli forces.<\/p>\n<h2>Wider Regional Conflict and Geopolitical Context<\/h2>\n<p>The alleged drone strikes in Nakhchivan and Iran&#8217;s subsequent denial unfold against a backdrop of intensifying conflict across the broader Middle East. U.S. and Israeli forces have been conducting continuous strikes inside Iran, targeting air defense systems and missile launchers, while Iran has claimed strikes on a U.S. oil tanker and accused the U.S. of sinking an Iranian naval vessel in the Indian Ocean. Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted, affecting global energy markets.<\/p>\n<p>Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Iran and Turkey, holds significant strategic importance. It was notably part of a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan, known as the &#8220;Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity&#8221; (TRIPP). This agreement aimed to establish a land corridor connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and creating a passage between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the U.S. securing development rights for the proposed route.<\/p>\n<p>For years, Iran has voiced strong accusations against Azerbaijan, alleging that Baku has allowed its territory to be used as an Israeli spy base and is actively undermining Iran&#8217;s security from its northern border. According to <em>Al Jazeera<\/em>, Iranian officials have repeatedly warned Azerbaijan that it would face consequences if such activities continued. These long-standing grievances add a layer of complexity to the current drone incident, suggesting a potential tit-for-tat escalation in the region.<\/p>\n<h2>International Reactions and Ongoing Tensions<\/h2>\n<p>The incident in Nakhchivan further complicates international efforts to de-escalate the broader conflict. China has urged a return to negotiations between Tehran and Washington, citing concerns over global energy markets and the indiscriminate use of force. Meanwhile, other regional actors like Turkey and Qatar have also reported missile interceptions, highlighting the widespread nature of the current hostilities.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. has significantly increased its military presence in the region, deploying 50,000 troops, over 200 fighter jets, and two aircraft carriers. U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper stated that U.S. and Israeli strikes have hit approximately 2,000 targets, severely degrading Iran&#8217;s air defenses and missile-launch infrastructure. The Pentagon also identified six U.S. soldiers killed in a drone attack in Kuwait, underscoring the human cost of the escalating conflict.<\/p>\n<p><em>The denial by Iran regarding the drone strikes on Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijan maintains its accusations, underscores the profound mistrust and volatile dynamics characterizing the current regional security environment. This incident, set against the backdrop of an already widening U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, risks further destabilizing the South Caucasus and drawing more regional actors into the escalating hostilities.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Azerbaijan accused Iran of drone strikes on its Nakhchivan region, injuring two civilians. Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister denied the allegations\u0589<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28582,18,3],"tags":[346,1537,3232,3893,40380,49950],"class_list":["post-45665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east","category-military","category-politics","tag-diplomacy","tag-drones","tag-middle-east","tag-nakhchivan","tag-regional-conflict","tag-us-israel"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iranian-drone.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iranian-drone.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45665\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}