Azerbaijan accused Iran of “terrorism” on Thursday and vowed retaliation after two Iranian drones breached Azerbaijani airspace, striking the Nakhchivan exclave and injuring four people, according to Al Arabiya.
“Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told a security council meeting.
Aliyev also noted that armed forces have been placed on “mobilization level one” to prepare and execute retaliatory operations against Iran.
Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry also issued a stark warning, stating that “these attacks will not remain unanswered.”
In response, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected Azerbaijan’s accusations, declaring that Tehran had not targeted the Nakhchivan exclave.
“We do not attack our neighboring countries,” he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ.
Azerbaijan reported that one Iranian drone fell on the terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport—just 10 kilometers across the border from Iran. Meanwhile, the other one landed near a school in a nearby village.
The Azerbaijani Health Ministry also reported that the four people wounded in Thursday’s drone strikes were taken to hospital in Nakhchivan, the landlocked exclave bordering Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Video verified by Reuters captured thick black smoke near Nakhchivan International Airport and shattered skylights inside the terminal building.
On Saturday, the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, targeting its leadership and triggering a new conflict in the Middle East, according to Reuters.
Iran responded with a wave of counterattacks in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi as a retaliatory move, while launching barrages of missiles and drones toward Israel.
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