Drones launched from neighboring Iran have struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan autonomous region, injuring two people, according to Azerbaijan's Foreign Affairs Ministry. One drone struck Nakhchivan Airport on March 5, damaging the facility. A second drone landed near a school building in the Shekerabad area, the ministry said.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying it would only increase tensions in the region linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States Iran's ambassador to Azerbaijan has been summoned to the ministry in Baku to explain the incident.
"Azerbaijan reserves the right to respond," the ministry said.
Azerbaijan is one of the main oil suppliers to Israel, while Israel has been a key defense partner for Baku for years. Many in Azerbaijan see Israel as a reliable ally that supplied critical military equipment during the country's campaign to regain control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenia.
Despite its trade and defense ties with Israel, Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly said the country will not allow its territory or airspace to be used by any country to launch military operations against neighboring Iran or any other state.
"This drone attack on Nakhchivan airport is either an accident or a sign that there is larger escalation in the region," Rauf Mirgadirov, an independent analyst based in Europe, told RFE/RL.
"Right now, Iran has no reason to strike Azerbaijan, because neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey has been part of the war," he added.
"There are millions of Azerbaijanis living in Iran, and Tehran would not want to provoke them."
