Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday ordered his armed forces to prepare “appropriate retaliatory measures” after accusing Iran of carrying out an “unjustified act of terrorism and aggression” involving drone strikes on the Nakhchivan exclave.
“We are ready to show our strength against any hostile force, and they must not forget this in Iran,” Aliyev told a meeting of his Security Council. The President’s warning came after Azerbaijan stated that four Iranian drones violated its borders on Thursday, wounding four people in the Nakhchivan region and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Abadi denied that Tehran had targeted the region. “We do not attack neighbouring countries,” Abadi told the Azerbaijani news agency Anews, adding that Tehran would conduct an investigation into the matter.
Azerbaijani authorities reported that one drone struck the passenger terminal at Nakhchivan International Airport, located approximately 10 kilometres from the Iranian border, while another landed near a school in a nearby village. The military reportedly shot down a third drone, and a fourth struck unspecified civilian infrastructure. The Nakhchivan Ministry of Health told Reuters that the four injured individuals were hospitalised and are in a stable condition.
Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to a roof window inside the terminal building. Authorities said they are currently investigating the types of drones used in the attack.
In immediate response to the incident, Azerbaijan announced the closure of its southern airspace for 12 hours. It also closed its border crossings with Iran to all cargo trucks, including transit shipments. The move severs one of the shortest land routes connecting Iran to its ally, Russia. While Azerbaijan has kept its land borders largely closed to travellers since 2020, crossings have remained possible with special permits.
A source close to the government in Baku told Reuters on Wednesday that more than 1,100 people have crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan via the Astara crossing on the Caspian Sea since U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran began last Saturday.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov condemned the attack during a telephone call on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. Bayramov stated the incident was a violation of international law and contributed to “escalating tension” in the region.
Relations between the two nations are already strained by Baku’s strengthening of economic, energy, and military ties with Israel and NATO member Turkey. The escalating conflict between the United States and Iran has further heightened the risk of violence between Azerbaijan and its neighbour, which houses a large ethnic Azerbaijani community.
Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas producer, exporting the bulk of its energy to Turkey and Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Officials noted that any damage to this infrastructure could impact global energy prices.
