"Iran-Azerbaijan conflict disadvantages both countries" Interview with Prof. Lana Ravandi-Fadai

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Iran, Jeyhun Bayramov and Amir Abdollahian, held a telephone conversation on June 8. The ministers discussed the current state of inter-state relations, outlining existing problems and ways of overcoming them, and expressed their intention to continue negotiations, as well as to facilitate contacts between various structures of the two countries.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi visited South Azerbaijan, where he colourfully but rather ambiguously declared: "The Azerbaijani civilisation is one of the oldest civilisations of Islamic Iran and a great supporter of the entire Islamic world". And returning to the present day, he remarked that "East Azerbaijan has great potential, and most importantly, hardworking young people who are considered the province's most important asset," promising that problems there such as unemployment and housing shortages "will be solved.

Is Tehran trying to improve relations with Baku? Maybe they have decided to adjust their policy towards Baku, fearing the discontent of the country's huge Azerbaijani population?

Lana Ravandi-Fadai, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Head of the Oriental Cultural Centre, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Associate Professor of Russian State University for the Humanities Department of Modern East and Africa, stated in an interview with Caliber.Az that the disinterest in the conflict on both sides is obvious, as evidenced by the obvious moves toward normalising relations.

As noted by the Eastern political scientist, trade and economic relations continue - Iran and Azerbaijan cooperate in a variety of economic areas. The agreement between Azerbaijan and Iran on swap supplies of Turkmen gas, for instance, has not undergone any adjustments. Moreover, trade between the two countries has increased by 30 per cent in recent years and road transport volume by as much as 70 per cent. The construction of a road bridge over the Astarachay River (a joint project between the AR and the IRI) and the construction of hydroelectric power stations on the Araz River are underway.

However, the improvement and development of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations are undoubtedly hampered by the Iranian authorities' dissatisfaction with Azerbaijan's close ties with Israel.

“Iran, following the precepts of Khomeini, does not officially recognise the existence of the State of Israel and calls it the "Zionist regime" or "occupied Palestine", believing that Israel has emerged by criminal means - at the cost of murder and the expulsion of Muslims. There is constant talk in Iran about Israel's crimes against the Palestinians and its dependence on the US. Therefore, Tehran is very wary of any state, especially a neighbouring one, establishing close relations with Israel. Azerbaijan, in fact, has very close relations with it. In general, Azerbaijan receives up to 60% of its arms from Tel Aviv, providing Israel with the bulk of its oil consumption. In addition, unlike Iran, Azerbaijan has a very restrained attitude towards the Palestinian problem; it does not blame only Tel Aviv for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but believes that the problem lies on both sides. Therefore, the Iranians see the new stage of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Israel as a goal to create a "united anti-Iranian front," Ravandi-Fadai says.

However, the conflict situation between Baku and Tehran, the political scientist believes, is causing both material and political damage to both sides.

"Objectively speaking, the conflict is disadvantageous for both countries, at least from an economic point of view. In particular, it prevents the development of transport infrastructure, because the international transport corridor 'North-South' must go through Azerbaijan and Iran, and the conflict means the termination of this extremely profitable project," the political scientist points out.

In general, the Iranians usually try to respect the formalities of international law and do not violate the borders of neighbouring states, and they only deploy troops at the invitation of their governments, she added.

"Yes, there is sometimes military and bravura rhetoric from some in the conservative wing of Iranian politics, but this usually leads to nothing - just some threats in words. Iranians can loudly declare: "Death to America", and "Death to Israel", but this is more a manifestation of the Iranian mentality, while in real actions there is a careful and sensible assessment of the situation.

As for the telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Iran, such contacts should be welcomed, and this is certainly a shift in relations," she stressed.