"Azerbaijan - Iran's underlying fear"
Foreign pundits comment on Tehran's threats

INTERVIEWS  17 April 2023 - 18:23

Azerbaijan is increasingly irritating the Iranian mullahcracy with its independence, systematic development, and political and economical achievements. Tehran is resolutely unwilling to understand and accept this. In its view, Azerbaijan must live at the behest of Iran, following its established rules.

Even more often, Iranian activists have been trying to instill these rules into Baku, accompanied with threats - if you do not act as we demand, we will take action. Recently Ali Nikzad, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament has addressed Azerbaijan and threatened with various disasters for disobedience.

At first, his speech was the usual boast: "Iran is a great country that has shown special respect for its neighbors throughout history." But then he turned to targeted insults and threats: "Azerbaijan should know that after the Islamic Revolution, one of Iran's neighbors (Iraq – ed.) once made a mistake and, despite the great support of various countries, could not resist Iran for 8 years, so we advise Azerbaijani statesmen to respect the principle of good neighborliness..."

Nikzad also touched upon the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy, twisting everything around as if it was our country's fault and that it should have informed the world about this incident. However, the rest of the nonsense of the Iranian parliamentarian is impressive: "Iran has behaved with dignity so far, so I advise the Azerbaijani government and parliament to think about history and behave correctly. Azerbaijan expelled four diplomats in the last few days, and our Foreign Ministry will certainly retaliate, but such behavior does not end well. He also said that Azerbaijan should refrain from ventures, ratcheting up anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric with words "Iran has been patient so far, but patience has limits."

Tehran's patronising tone and insolent interference in our country's foreign policy are obvious. Isn't the mullah regime too enthusiastic about intimidation, are Iranian figures not aware of the consequences of this policy? Tehran's persistent inadequacy towards Baku is noticeable even to foreign political analysts.

However, speaking to Caliber.Az, Tatiana Poloskova, State Advisor of the Russian Federation of the first class, Doctor of Political Science, noted that it is quite forgivable for the Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Parliament Ali Nikzad to advise the Azerbaijani leadership "to think over the history" and frighten the people of the neighboring country that Tehran is running out of patience. Just because this very Ali Nikzad "is not an expert in international relations and is not aware of diplomatic politeness".

"So we can put it down to simple ignorance," she suggests.

Ali Nikzad, she noted, had a bachelor's degree in urban development and then a master's degree in public administration from the University of Industrial Management. In public office, his areas of expertise included housing and road improvement.

"This time Mr. Nikzad mixed up more just than roads. Especially when he expressed his opinion (I failed to understand if it was the personal or official opinion of Iranian leadership) in connection with the attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran. And again began to pester Baku with his ridiculous advice. Like Azerbaijani Embassy's attacker's motives were personal. What's this got to do with motives? Motives can be anything. The severity of punishment depends on it. But this does not remove responsibility. A crime has been committed! A man died, and people suffered", Poloskova said.

Towards the end, she believes, Nikzad started talking nonsense threatening Baku for retaliation following the murder of the embassy employee and for further deterioration of relations, in which actually Iran had a great role.

"I can give some advice to Iran too, I taught Russian diplomats for ten years at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, so I have the right. First, one dilettante in power can do more damage to international relations than dozens of diplomats who got into the Foreign Ministry's system through connections. Second, Mr. Nikzad, you better speak up. When you say 'it will not end well', what are you talking about? Very interesting.

Third, take my advice: get busy with the internal affairs of Iran, with what you have been taught. Somehow it seems to me that you have not built all the roads there, and you have not provided housing for everyone.

I note that all of the above does not apply only to this character of the Iranian beau monde. So I advise Iranian politicians not to follow his example. Although, as you know, a bad example is contagious," added the political scientist.

She also asked the Iranian side to answer an important question - where was Iran with its advice and claims for more careful protection of the borders in the region for all thirty years while Armenia was ravaging and plundering the occupied Azerbaijani lands? Hypocrisy, she argues in this regard, is the basis of Iran's modern policy. That is why the patience of many countries towards it will soon come to an end.

"And one more thing. Why does Baku constantly hear accusations of cooperation with the Zionist regime from Iran? The very notion of 'Zionism', for Mr. Nikzad's information, has nothing wrong with it. Zionism is a political movement that aims to unite and rebuild the Jewish people in their historic homeland - Israel (Eretz Israel), as well as the ideological concept on which this movement is based. It is clear that Zionism and the Zionists were once demonised, and even now they continue to be demonised. To accuse anyone of 'collaborating with the Zionist regime' is excusable to Iranian peasant, but not to a high-ranking official.

Yes, official Baku is cooperating successfully with Israel. So what? Aren't there any Muslim countries cooperating with Israel? Now we must go to Nikzad to ask for permission? Deal with your affairs, gentlemen from Tehran. And deal with your friends in Armenia which is full of agents of influence from the countries which are traditional enemies of Iran. At that, it welcomes them without any reproachful advice from outside and even with applause.

We remember how Iran together with their Armenian henchmen arranged a provocation and a pogrom at the Russian embassy, during which Ambassador Griboyedov and others were killed. So I will finish with advice in the style of a Russian proverb: the looking glass is not to blame if your own face is plain. And we know the price of Iranian hypocrisy," Poloskova dotted the "i's".

Kazakhstani political analyst Ruslan Salikhov shares her view. Iran, he suggests, judging by the rhetoric of Nikzad, was and is very jealous of Azerbaijan's successes, hence the attempts to teach Baku something, to press and threaten.

"Iran has always had a kind of competitive anger towards its northern neighbour. And this fear was justified. Tehran has always realised that Azerbaijan, despite its relatively small territory, has strong economic and political potential, and has always feared its strengthening. Of course, these fears are primarily related to Iran's underlying fears - the fear that Azerbaijan might become so strong that a part of the country inhabited by ethnic Azeris would simply demand autonomy with plans to annex it to the Republic of Azerbaijan. That is why there is such a mass violation of Azeris' rights in Iran," the Kazakh political analyst said.

And now, when Azerbaijan and its influence are really exceeding the capacity of an ordinary regional country, Tehran perceives such strengthening of Baku as a strategic threat. Victory in the 44-day war and continued successes in the international political arena are of great concern to the toxic mullah regime.

"All this is from Tehran's not very big-minded and inflated ambitions. Such a strengthening of Azerbaijan could be used to great advantage by Iran. Just by establishing relations with Baku, Iran could noticeably strengthen its statehood, gain access to new markets and transit routes, and reduce military tensions, which like a sword of Damocles hanging over Iran in the face of Israel and the US. However, only Tehran itself is to blame for the latter. So poisonous threats are probably the only strength of Iran in its foreign policy, while the country is on the verge of disintegration," the Kazakhstani expert summed up.

Caliber.Az