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World Politics Review
March 9 2012
Azerbaijan-Iran Tensions Resurrect Long-Term Disputes
By Greg Caramenico | 09 Mar 2012
Iran and Azerbaijan have had a volatile diplomatic relationship ever
since Azerbaijan gained its independence 20 years ago. But even
against the backdrop of their bumpy history, the deterioration in
relations over the past few months has been swift. Azerbaijan's recent
moves to strengthen its alliance with Israel have certainly
exacerbated tensions with Iran, but they are not the only cause of
conflict. In addition to the two sides' history of mutual suspicion,
violent disagreement over sovereignty and each other's choice of
regional diplomatic partners are also prominent causes of strife.
A central source of long-term tension between the two neighbors is the
legal status of Iran's ethnic Azeris, who comprise 16 percent of
Iran's population. Although some ethnic Azeris in Iran have dual
citizenship, Azerbaijan sometimes claims sovereignty over all ethnic
Azeris and has at times commented on legal issues affecting Iran's
Azeri minority population. Recently published school textbooks in
Azerbaijan even relabeled Iran's northern border province `Southern
Azerbaijan.' When Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, gave a
domestically uncontroversial 2011 speech describing himself as leader
of all the world's Azeris, the Iranian government took offense. The
chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee, Alaeddin Borujerdi, dismissed the declaration as
reflecting the `innate sense of inferiority' that Azeris feel toward
Iran. The Iranian press portrayed Aliyev's comments as irresponsible,
accusing him of soliciting dual loyalties among Iran's Azeri
population.
Since its 1979 revolution, Iran has sporadically but unofficially
suppressed Azeri-language publications and cultural organizations.
More recently, Iranian officials have accused some Azeris who
routinely travel between Azerbaijan and Iran of being spies for the
Azeri government. As justification, officials point to Baku's
increased cooperation with Israel, Aliyev's claim of sovereignty over
Iranian Azeris and alleged recruiting by Western intelligence agencies
in Azerbaijan, which Tehran says is widespread. Iran recently detained
several Iranian Azeris suspected of cooperating with Israel in the
killings of several nuclear scientists, part of what Iranian officials
believe to be a wide-ranging espionage campaign.
Meanwhile, fear of Iranian espionage is rising in Azerbaijan as well.
The Azeri Defense Ministry claims to have discovered many Iranian
agents engaged in planning violent counterespionage operations in
Azerbaijan. The most publicized incident involved attempted
assassinations of Israeli diplomats in Baku, which led the Azeri
Embassy to formally complain to Tehran and resulted in increased
Azeri-Israeli joint surveillance of possible Iranian terror threats.
Last week, the Azeris detained several Iranian citizens as well as an
Azerbaijani journalist working for Iran's state-run Fars News Agency
on drug charges. Azeri police are also investigating the December
stabbing death of Azerbaijani journalist Rafiq Tagi in Baku. Many
Azeris believe that Iran killed Tagi, a critic of radical Islam and of
Iran, in reprisal for his recently published criticisms of the
country.
Azerbaijan and Iran also diverge over their choices of strategic
regional partners. For Iran, the major concern is Azerbaijan's close
working relationship with Israel and its growing friendship with the
United States. While Azerbaijan's economic and technological
cooperation with Israel stretches back more than a decade, the two
have recently accelerated security exchanges and military training. As
a result, the Iranian Foreign Ministry now claims that Israel has
turned Azerbaijan into a proxy state for espionage and military
operations. The ministry also points to arrangements such as the
Northern Distribution Network, NATO's supply route to Afghanistan, as
a sign that Azerbaijan has become a dangerous source of logistical
support for Iran's enemies. Last month's announcement of a $1.5
billion arms sale by Israel to Azerbaijan greatly angered the Iranian
government and prompted demands that Azerbaijan account for its choice
of weapons supplier.
For Azerbaijan's part, the longest-standing source of diplomatic
friction with Iran is the latter's close economic relationship with
Armenia. Much of Azerbaijan's foreign policy is colored by its
conflict with Armenia over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh
and Baku's contention that Armenia is a belligerent neighbor. As a
result, Azerbaijan's relationships with other neighboring states are
cultivated with an eye to Armenia. Linguistic and cultural ties
between Turkey and Azerbaijan have been strengthened by both
countries' opposition to Armenian foreign policy goals. In fact,
Azerbaijan's friendship with Israel was bolstered in the 1990s by the
support Israel offered to Azerbaijan during its war with Armenia.
Unsurprisingly, Iran's trade and energy accords with Armenia are a
source of widespread anger in Azerbaijan. And Azeri officials maintain
that if Iran has a right to trade with Armenia, then Azerbaijan can
certainly buy weapons from Israel to protect itself against aggression
in the disputed border regions occupied by Armenia. Pressed about the
arms deal last week, Azeri Ambassador to Iran Cavansir Ahundzade
assured Tehran that Israeli weapons would only be used to protect
Azeri territory from Armenian occupation.
Efforts at addressing the sources of bilateral tensions are underway
in both countries. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi spoke of
outside -- read: Western -- interests undermining Iran's `good
relations' with its northern neighbor, while the Iranian Foreign
Ministry still refers to the Azeris as good neighbors. Just this week,
on March 7, the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan began
a series of trilateral meetings in Azerbaijan's Nakichevan border
province. Among the topics they were expected to address were
peacekeeping in the Caucasus and regional border-security concerns due
to smuggling and terrorism, although Iran probably also pressed
Azerbaijan to account for its dealings with Israel.
Though useful, such conferences are unlikely to result in major
changes in either side's position in the short term. Nor would they
contain the potential fallout were Azerbaijan even passively to aid
U.S. or Israeli military strikes against Iran's nuclear program, which
would be viewed by Tehran as an act of war. Azerbaijan has many
important energy and infrastructure investments that will require
additional security if tensions with Iran escalate, and it will be
painfully close to the action should military conflict with Iran
occur.
Greg Caramenico is a journalist and analyst covering finance, science
and energy policy, as well as Italy, Iran and the Levant. He has a
master's degree in history from Vanderbilt University.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11710/azerbaijan-iran-tensions-resurrect-long-term-disputes
March 9 2012
Azerbaijan-Iran Tensions Resurrect Long-Term Disputes
By Greg Caramenico | 09 Mar 2012
Iran and Azerbaijan have had a volatile diplomatic relationship ever
since Azerbaijan gained its independence 20 years ago. But even
against the backdrop of their bumpy history, the deterioration in
relations over the past few months has been swift. Azerbaijan's recent
moves to strengthen its alliance with Israel have certainly
exacerbated tensions with Iran, but they are not the only cause of
conflict. In addition to the two sides' history of mutual suspicion,
violent disagreement over sovereignty and each other's choice of
regional diplomatic partners are also prominent causes of strife.
A central source of long-term tension between the two neighbors is the
legal status of Iran's ethnic Azeris, who comprise 16 percent of
Iran's population. Although some ethnic Azeris in Iran have dual
citizenship, Azerbaijan sometimes claims sovereignty over all ethnic
Azeris and has at times commented on legal issues affecting Iran's
Azeri minority population. Recently published school textbooks in
Azerbaijan even relabeled Iran's northern border province `Southern
Azerbaijan.' When Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, gave a
domestically uncontroversial 2011 speech describing himself as leader
of all the world's Azeris, the Iranian government took offense. The
chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee, Alaeddin Borujerdi, dismissed the declaration as
reflecting the `innate sense of inferiority' that Azeris feel toward
Iran. The Iranian press portrayed Aliyev's comments as irresponsible,
accusing him of soliciting dual loyalties among Iran's Azeri
population.
Since its 1979 revolution, Iran has sporadically but unofficially
suppressed Azeri-language publications and cultural organizations.
More recently, Iranian officials have accused some Azeris who
routinely travel between Azerbaijan and Iran of being spies for the
Azeri government. As justification, officials point to Baku's
increased cooperation with Israel, Aliyev's claim of sovereignty over
Iranian Azeris and alleged recruiting by Western intelligence agencies
in Azerbaijan, which Tehran says is widespread. Iran recently detained
several Iranian Azeris suspected of cooperating with Israel in the
killings of several nuclear scientists, part of what Iranian officials
believe to be a wide-ranging espionage campaign.
Meanwhile, fear of Iranian espionage is rising in Azerbaijan as well.
The Azeri Defense Ministry claims to have discovered many Iranian
agents engaged in planning violent counterespionage operations in
Azerbaijan. The most publicized incident involved attempted
assassinations of Israeli diplomats in Baku, which led the Azeri
Embassy to formally complain to Tehran and resulted in increased
Azeri-Israeli joint surveillance of possible Iranian terror threats.
Last week, the Azeris detained several Iranian citizens as well as an
Azerbaijani journalist working for Iran's state-run Fars News Agency
on drug charges. Azeri police are also investigating the December
stabbing death of Azerbaijani journalist Rafiq Tagi in Baku. Many
Azeris believe that Iran killed Tagi, a critic of radical Islam and of
Iran, in reprisal for his recently published criticisms of the
country.
Azerbaijan and Iran also diverge over their choices of strategic
regional partners. For Iran, the major concern is Azerbaijan's close
working relationship with Israel and its growing friendship with the
United States. While Azerbaijan's economic and technological
cooperation with Israel stretches back more than a decade, the two
have recently accelerated security exchanges and military training. As
a result, the Iranian Foreign Ministry now claims that Israel has
turned Azerbaijan into a proxy state for espionage and military
operations. The ministry also points to arrangements such as the
Northern Distribution Network, NATO's supply route to Afghanistan, as
a sign that Azerbaijan has become a dangerous source of logistical
support for Iran's enemies. Last month's announcement of a $1.5
billion arms sale by Israel to Azerbaijan greatly angered the Iranian
government and prompted demands that Azerbaijan account for its choice
of weapons supplier.
For Azerbaijan's part, the longest-standing source of diplomatic
friction with Iran is the latter's close economic relationship with
Armenia. Much of Azerbaijan's foreign policy is colored by its
conflict with Armenia over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh
and Baku's contention that Armenia is a belligerent neighbor. As a
result, Azerbaijan's relationships with other neighboring states are
cultivated with an eye to Armenia. Linguistic and cultural ties
between Turkey and Azerbaijan have been strengthened by both
countries' opposition to Armenian foreign policy goals. In fact,
Azerbaijan's friendship with Israel was bolstered in the 1990s by the
support Israel offered to Azerbaijan during its war with Armenia.
Unsurprisingly, Iran's trade and energy accords with Armenia are a
source of widespread anger in Azerbaijan. And Azeri officials maintain
that if Iran has a right to trade with Armenia, then Azerbaijan can
certainly buy weapons from Israel to protect itself against aggression
in the disputed border regions occupied by Armenia. Pressed about the
arms deal last week, Azeri Ambassador to Iran Cavansir Ahundzade
assured Tehran that Israeli weapons would only be used to protect
Azeri territory from Armenian occupation.
Efforts at addressing the sources of bilateral tensions are underway
in both countries. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi spoke of
outside -- read: Western -- interests undermining Iran's `good
relations' with its northern neighbor, while the Iranian Foreign
Ministry still refers to the Azeris as good neighbors. Just this week,
on March 7, the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan began
a series of trilateral meetings in Azerbaijan's Nakichevan border
province. Among the topics they were expected to address were
peacekeeping in the Caucasus and regional border-security concerns due
to smuggling and terrorism, although Iran probably also pressed
Azerbaijan to account for its dealings with Israel.
Though useful, such conferences are unlikely to result in major
changes in either side's position in the short term. Nor would they
contain the potential fallout were Azerbaijan even passively to aid
U.S. or Israeli military strikes against Iran's nuclear program, which
would be viewed by Tehran as an act of war. Azerbaijan has many
important energy and infrastructure investments that will require
additional security if tensions with Iran escalate, and it will be
painfully close to the action should military conflict with Iran
occur.
Greg Caramenico is a journalist and analyst covering finance, science
and energy policy, as well as Italy, Iran and the Levant. He has a
master's degree in history from Vanderbilt University.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11710/azerbaijan-iran-tensions-resurrect-long-term-disputes