
Iranian Foreign Policy Analyst Hails Liberation of Azeri Lands
While many Armenian officials see Iran as a friendly neighbor to the south that has taken a “balanced” approach on the Karabakh conflict, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) today reports that the head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi, “hailed the liberation of Azeri lands which were occupied for 30 years.”
Kharrazi, according to the IRNA, made the remark in a statement calling on Azerbaijan not to rely on “foreigners” to ensure its security.
“Unfortunately, the interference of third parties in Caucasus crisis had led to the presence of terrorist forces from Iraq and Syria in this region,” the IRNA quotes Kharrazi as saying.
Yesterday, during his meeting with visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran would never allow “terrorists or Zionists” to damage peace and security in the southern Caucasus and its relations with Armenia.
If Kharrazi did “hail the liberation of Azeri lands” during last year’s Karabakh war, he must be aware that Azerbaijan hired Middle Eastern mercenaries, estimated to number in the hundreds, in its war effort. Where these mercenaries are now remains unanswered.
If these are the “terrorists” he refers to, his praise of Baku’s military victory seems a bit contradictory.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on Kharrazi’s alleged statement.
(The IRNA is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is government-funded and controlled by the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.)
Photo: Islamic Republic News Agency
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