Iran criticises Azerbaijan over border flight incident

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani has accused Azerbaijan of a lack of "good will" and causing a row over an Iranian warplane flying near the border.

“This was a conventional flight with the aim of monitoring Iran's border areas within the territories of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Similar flights had been conducted in the past as well,” Kanani said at his weekly news conference on 13 March, according to the state news agency IRNA.

He added that if "by mistake" the Iranian plane had breached Azerbaijan airspace, Azeri radar and air defence systems would have contacted and warned the pilot. 

"In the case of this flight, no radar or radio warning was issued. This shows that no mistake was made," Kanani added.

Kanani said Iran and Azerbaijan have security ties, the Iranian embassy is open in Baku, and its military attache is at his post.

He added that, if Azerbaijan was acting with "good will, the issue could have been resolved through communication with our embassy".

Referring to the summoning of the Iranian ambassador by Azerbaijan, Kanani said that this showed a lack of "good will" and was not in line with "what is usually expected in relations between countries, especially neighbours". 

Earlier, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Defence said in a joint statement that an Iranian warplane flew along the state border between the two countries on the morning of 11 March.

The warplane flew non-stop for half an hour along the border from Azerbaijan's south-western Zangilan District to south-eastern Bilasuvar District. The plane flew 3-5 km off the state border and in some cases entirely above the border, the statement said.

"The warplane's flight, which lasted for more than half an hour, near Azerbaijans' lands liberated from occupation [as a result of the 2020 Karabakh war with Armenia] is a provocation and unfriendly behaviour against Azerbaijan," it added. 

"We flatly condemn this provocative step by Iran and urge it provide an explanation and refrain from these kinds of provocative steps in the future," the statement added.

It also said that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry had summoned the Iranian ambassador earlier in the day to give him a note of protest.

The statement said that Iran violated the international practice whereby neighbouring states are warned before warplanes approach a state border, and added that the Iranian warplane approaching the state border this close and flying along the border put the safety of civil aviation at risk and "further strained" bilateral relations.

It also recalled that Iran conducted a major military exercise along the Aras River near the Azerbaijani border in 2022.