Baku to Tehran: Yerevan envoy’s anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric undermines bilateral ties

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has issued a sharp response to recent remarks made by Mehdi Sobhani, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, regarding the Western Azerbaijan Community. The Ministry strongly rejected Sobhani’s statements, accusing him of misrepresenting international decisions and undermining Azerbaijan-Iran relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada denounced the ambassador’s comments, calling them a “manipulative interpretation” of resolutions adopted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Caliber.Az reports.

 These resolutions, Hajizada emphasised, support the rights of Azerbaijanis who were forcibly displaced from present-day Armenia.

“We categorically reject the claims by Mehdi Sobhani, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Armenia, regarding the Western Azerbaijan Community,” Hajizada said.

He added that the ambassador’s remarks distort the intent of the OIC resolutions, which focus on justice and human rights, not territorial claims, as portrayed by Yerevan and echoed by the Iranian envoy.

“The manipulative interpretation by the Ambassador of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s decisions on Western Azerbaijan Community adopted in Istanbul causes surprise and indignation,” the spokesperson said. “It distorts the clear intent of the resolutions to uphold justice for and human rights of the Community who were systematically expelled through violence, intimidation, and gross violations from the present-day Armenia.”

Hajizada further advised Sobhani to review the actual texts of the OIC documents, particularly the resolution titled “The Right of Return of the Azerbaijanis Forcefully and Systematically Expelled from the Territory of the Present-Day Armenia.” He stressed that these decisions are rooted in historical facts and international law.

“These resolutions call for the restoration of the fundamental rights of displaced Azerbaijanis, not territorial claims as falsely portrayed by Armenia and echoed by the Iranian Ambassador,” Hajizada stated. “Moreover, the resolution, among others, condemns Armenia’s continued denial of the Community’s fundamental rights.”

The Foreign Ministry also pointed out a contradiction between Sobhani’s remarks and the official stance of Tehran. “The Ambassador’s false statements that are calculated to meet the needs of Armenia are particularly egregious as they contradict the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran represented in Istanbul at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who along with 57 countries supported the decisions on Western Azerbaijan Community,” Hajizada noted.

The statement concluded with a broader critique of Ambassador Sobhani’s repeated public messaging.

“The Ambassador’s regular and systematically provocative anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric is aimed at undermining the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran,” it read. “Championing Armenia’s distortions with such a fervor, namely to be more Catholic than the Pope, will not bring an honor.”

By Tamilla Hasanova