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WSWS: "ALREADY STRAINED RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND AZERBAIJAN HAVE CONTINUED TO WORSEN IN RECENT DAYS"
http://times.am/?l=en&p=8049
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are tensed and especially for the last
time. World media refers to the issue and seeks for the reasons.
Another article by the World Socialist Web Site is published on
the topic.
"The already strained relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, which
acts as an outpost of the United States and Israel on the Caspian Sea,
have continued to worsen in recent days.
There was an intensification of the tone on both sides following the
Eurovision Song Contest held in the Azerbaijani capital Baku this
year. On May 29, Azerbaijan blocked a leading Iranian cleric from
entering the country after Iranian Islamists dubbed the song contest
a "gay parade." There were protests against the other side in both
countries during the competition. Both Tehran and Baku have since
withdrawn their ambassadors.
On May 30, the Baku government also sent a note to Tehran asking the
whereabouts of two Azerbaijani writers who have allegedly disappeared
in Iran. The Russian media now write openly of a "diplomatic war."
The reason for the strained relations is Azerbaijan's close
collaboration with the United States and Israel in their war
preparations against Iran. Tehran has accused the government in Baku
several times of being involved in the assassinations of Iranian
nuclear scientists, which most likely were carried out by American
and Israeli intelligence agencies. Justifiably, Iran also feels
threatened by the systematic military rearmament of Azerbaijan,
which is being carried out by Israel and the US.
The states of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran
have been arguing for years over a border survey of the oil-rich
Caspian Sea, whose territorial status for this reason has still
not been established. Tahir Zeynalov, an analyst at the Azerbaijan
Diplomatic Academy, told the online newspaper Eurasianet.org that
Azerbaijan would have to defend itself against possible attempts by
Iran to carry out oil exploration in an area that his country could
claim "was ours."
During the recent Eurovision Song Contest, two Azerbaijani Coast
Guard vessels patrolled the port of Baku, and there were leaked press
accounts linking this maneuver to supposed threats from Iran. In
response to this open provocation, Iran conducted military exercises
near the Azerbaijani border with six navy ships", the article writes.
Referring to other serious problems between two states, the magazine
continues: "The Azerbaijani military, and especially the Navy, have
been systematically rearmed in recent years by the US. From 2010
to 2011, Azerbaijan's military spending rose from 3.95 percent to
6.2 percent of GDP, or $3.1 billion. In a telegram to the American
government in 2009, published by WikiLeaks, Azerbaijan is described as
"an important partner in the war on terrorism." Azerbaijani rulers
supported the wars against Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel is also directly involved in the arming of Azerbaijan. In
February of this year, Baku agreed to buy arms worth $1.6 billion
from Israel. The new weapons systems ordered from Israel include
sea-based missiles and drones. Thanks to the support of the US and
Israel, Baku now has a more heavily armed navy in the Caspian region
than even Russia.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected in Baku on June 6 to
meet with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov. On the agenda will be the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
a region over which Azerbaijan has been in conflict for years with
its neighbor Armenia.
The issue of Iran is also of central importance. According to the
Azerbaijani online newspaper AKZ.az, experts expect that Clinton
will discuss the "program for the war on terror and assistance to
Azerbaijan" and "technical re-equipment of the Azerbaijani secret
service."
Turkey, which also supports a military intervention against Syria
and is currently at the forefront in equipping the Syrian rebels,
is sending four top military leaders in a public show of support
for Baku, underscoring the longstanding ties between Ankara and
the Turkic-speaking country. The Russian news agency Regnum quoted
an anonymous source who is close to the Turkish military, saying:
"With this step, Turkey wants to give Iran to understand that they
will not leave Azerbaijan on its own", the article concludes.
http://times.am/?l=en&p=8049
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are tensed and especially for the last
time. World media refers to the issue and seeks for the reasons.
Another article by the World Socialist Web Site is published on
the topic.
"The already strained relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, which
acts as an outpost of the United States and Israel on the Caspian Sea,
have continued to worsen in recent days.
There was an intensification of the tone on both sides following the
Eurovision Song Contest held in the Azerbaijani capital Baku this
year. On May 29, Azerbaijan blocked a leading Iranian cleric from
entering the country after Iranian Islamists dubbed the song contest
a "gay parade." There were protests against the other side in both
countries during the competition. Both Tehran and Baku have since
withdrawn their ambassadors.
On May 30, the Baku government also sent a note to Tehran asking the
whereabouts of two Azerbaijani writers who have allegedly disappeared
in Iran. The Russian media now write openly of a "diplomatic war."
The reason for the strained relations is Azerbaijan's close
collaboration with the United States and Israel in their war
preparations against Iran. Tehran has accused the government in Baku
several times of being involved in the assassinations of Iranian
nuclear scientists, which most likely were carried out by American
and Israeli intelligence agencies. Justifiably, Iran also feels
threatened by the systematic military rearmament of Azerbaijan,
which is being carried out by Israel and the US.
The states of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran
have been arguing for years over a border survey of the oil-rich
Caspian Sea, whose territorial status for this reason has still
not been established. Tahir Zeynalov, an analyst at the Azerbaijan
Diplomatic Academy, told the online newspaper Eurasianet.org that
Azerbaijan would have to defend itself against possible attempts by
Iran to carry out oil exploration in an area that his country could
claim "was ours."
During the recent Eurovision Song Contest, two Azerbaijani Coast
Guard vessels patrolled the port of Baku, and there were leaked press
accounts linking this maneuver to supposed threats from Iran. In
response to this open provocation, Iran conducted military exercises
near the Azerbaijani border with six navy ships", the article writes.
Referring to other serious problems between two states, the magazine
continues: "The Azerbaijani military, and especially the Navy, have
been systematically rearmed in recent years by the US. From 2010
to 2011, Azerbaijan's military spending rose from 3.95 percent to
6.2 percent of GDP, or $3.1 billion. In a telegram to the American
government in 2009, published by WikiLeaks, Azerbaijan is described as
"an important partner in the war on terrorism." Azerbaijani rulers
supported the wars against Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel is also directly involved in the arming of Azerbaijan. In
February of this year, Baku agreed to buy arms worth $1.6 billion
from Israel. The new weapons systems ordered from Israel include
sea-based missiles and drones. Thanks to the support of the US and
Israel, Baku now has a more heavily armed navy in the Caspian region
than even Russia.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected in Baku on June 6 to
meet with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov. On the agenda will be the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
a region over which Azerbaijan has been in conflict for years with
its neighbor Armenia.
The issue of Iran is also of central importance. According to the
Azerbaijani online newspaper AKZ.az, experts expect that Clinton
will discuss the "program for the war on terror and assistance to
Azerbaijan" and "technical re-equipment of the Azerbaijani secret
service."
Turkey, which also supports a military intervention against Syria
and is currently at the forefront in equipping the Syrian rebels,
is sending four top military leaders in a public show of support
for Baku, underscoring the longstanding ties between Ankara and
the Turkic-speaking country. The Russian news agency Regnum quoted
an anonymous source who is close to the Turkish military, saying:
"With this step, Turkey wants to give Iran to understand that they
will not leave Azerbaijan on its own", the article concludes.