Azerbaijani-Iranian relations become more tensed. How Iran responds to the anti-Iranian position of Azerbaijan? Shoushan Stepanyan interviewed Iran specialist Roudik Yaralyan.

– In recent years, anti-Iranian sentiments increased in Azerbaijan. This is mainly due to an unbalanced domestic and foreign policy of the Azerbaijan authorities. Official Baku is accompanied by failure both in the domestic and external front, so he is trying to achieve change in the situation, creating tension in the region. From this point of view for Azerbaijan Iran is a convenient goal, since Baku hopes to compensate its failure due to Iran’s territorial integrity, making claims to the historical Atrpatakan. Various functions are being organized where obvious anti-Iranian statements are heard. I am sure that Baku’s such policy would have failed long ago, if not supported by neighbouring Turkey.

Recently Tavriz University’s Head of History and Culture Department Mohammad Ali Porghun, in the framework of the conference “Azerbaijan’s role during the Islamic revolution”, strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s anti-Iranian actions and warned that they will take retaliatory steps if this continues.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan in building good-neighborly relations with Iran is trying to rely on ill-founded idea of “religious brotherhood and solidarity”, which in the future may work against it. If Baku has set a goal to “unite the North and South Azerbaijan”, Iran can not be against it if this union is part of the Iranian state, with its capital in Tehran, moreovder, there was a clear hint from Iran on that.