Israel behind Azerbaijan drone provocations to frame Iran – envoy

The Nakhchivan incident could be part of a wider effort to place blame on Tehran, its ambassador to Russia has told RT

Iran did not carry out the drone attacks on Azerbaijan and may itself be the target of a broader provocation campaign by the “Zionist regime,” Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, has said.

Azerbaijani officials claimed on Thursday that drones flying from the direction of Iran struck the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport. Another UAV reportedly crashed near a school in a nearby village, leaving two civilians injured. Tehran has denied any involvement.

Speaking to RT, Jalali cited the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces statement that in some cases “other sides are directing the drones.” 

“We did not strike Nakhchivan, and there was no reason for an attack,” he said. “It is possible that the Zionist regime and others have taken these actions to involve us with our neighboring countries.”

Baku has called the strike a “terrorist act,” blaming Tehran and demanding apologies. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that those responsible must be held accountable and vowed that his country would “retaliate.”

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the strikes are directed only at countries hosting military bases belonging to Tehran’s adversaries and that they do not seek confrontation with neighboring states.

Jalali also rejected Pentagon claims that Iran has been left “very weak” and has “no missiles left” following the US-Israeli bombardment launched last Saturday. The attack was followed by Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states hosting American bases, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The envoy said such statements are part of the enemy’s “psychological warfare” designed “to impose their own narratives.”

More than 1,200 people have been killed in Iran since the campaign began, including civilians, according to monitoring groups. Among those were over 160 schoolchildren that were killed in a strike on an elementary school in Minab, which Tehran blamed on Israel. The initial strikes on Saturday killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several senior officials. At least 12 people have been killed in Israel by retaliatory Iranian strikes. Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have also killed at least 72 people.