Iran vehicles continue to enter Karabakh despite Baku protest
By Trend
In August of 2021, reports, which became available to Trend, said that a lot of Iranian trucks are illegally entering the zone in Azerbaijan's Karabakh, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.
From July 11 to August 8, 35 Iranian vehicles (4 trucks and 31
fuel trucks) 70 times entered and exited through the Lachin
corridor. The dates are also available: July 11, 14, 16, 17, 20,
21, 27, 28, 29, 31, and also August 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
After this, on August 11 of 2021, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs called the Ambassador of Iran in Azerbaijan Seyyed Abbas
Mousavi.
The ambassador was handed a note and the MFA expressed serious
concern about the illegal steps taken by the Iranian side in
relation to Azerbaijan. The reason was weighty - the illegal
transportation of goods by Iranian trucks to Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan. The ambassador was unambiguously told that Azerbaijan
is seriously concerned about such facts, and this undoubtedly cast
a shadow on the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.
"The note expresses our dissatisfaction with the constant entry of
various vehicles belonging to the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran
into the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan without the permission of
Baku. Our discontent, which some time ago was verbally conveyed to
the Iranian side, was again raised before the ambassador during the
meeting," the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
said.
At the time, Baku stated that it counts on practical steps from
Iran, which should've put an end to such illegal activities. One
month has passed by. Has the Iranian side took the necessary
actions to solve the issue? On the contrary!
It became known for certain that in the period from August 11 to
September 10, 58 trucks, for various purposes, entered Khankendi,
in particular, with fuels and lubricants. Fifty five trucks later
left.
Also, according to the information we received, Iranians and
Armenians resort to various tricks. For example, when approaching
the zone of temporary responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers,
they put Armenian plates on Iranian trucks in order to hide the
exact number of Iranian trucks heading to Khankendi. The plan
wasn't without flaws though - the Iranians were using the same,
repeated plates, slapping them on different trucks.
So, what does Iran have to say about this? Will it again cry about
friendship, while behaving totally different? It is also worth
noting that illegal transfer of goods from Iran to Karabakh is
carried out despite the fact that Baku has repeatedly stated that
it has modern video surveillance systems.
And if this happens in peaceful times, before our eyes, it is scary
to even imagine what the Iranians did during the second Karabakh
War and during almost 30 years of occupation of our lands! Indeed,
even influential world media, in particular, The Economist, once
wrote that the Iranians during the years of the occupation of
Karabakh actively bought everything that was destroyed and
dismantled by Armenian vandals - stones, bricks, roofs from the
houses of Azerbaijanis and buildings, pipes. They didn't even skip
the household utensils of the Azerbaijanis expelled from their
homes.
If the Iranians are bringing fuel and lubricants to Karabakh even
today, when the Lachin corridor is under Azerbaijan's control...
so, does this mean than Armenian tanks were being fueled by Iran
during hostilities?
It should also be reminded about the recent visit of Iranian
Ambassador to Armenia, Abbas Badakhshan Zokhuri, to the border
area. Then the ambassador, expressed concern about the continuation
of border disputes between the two countries. We also remember how
he saw Azerbaijani positions through binoculars. As we can see, the
unfriendly behavior of our southern neighbor has not changed.
It is also appropriate to remind that back in August Iranians
actively recruited their citizens to work in Karabakh, in the zone
where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.
And no, we didn't forget about a webinar organized by Iran's state
agency - IRNA, where Iranian experts were greatly concerned about
the forced step of the Azerbaijani side, which restricted traffic
on the Gorus-Gafan highway. However, they forgot to remind their
audience that the restriction of movement was due to the actions to
restore order and the checking of the area after the attack on an
Azerbaijani border guard.
During the webinar, the participants agreed that "Iran, as a
regional power, must maintain a balance of power". Basically, they
openly called to support Armenia as opposed to Azerbaijan, since
the current balance of power is obvious.
Obviously, Iranian rhetoric and provocations leave no doubt that
Iran, guided by its internal fears and irrepressible ambitions, is
throwing a certain challenge to Azerbaijan. A choice that does not
bring anything good for itself in the first place.
In this contect we can overlook the somewhat strange behavior of
Russian peacekeepers, operating under a non-existent mandate. The
Iranians and Armenians are doing all this right before their eyes.
What does this mean? It means the Russians either don't control the
situation with the Lachin corridor as they should (which is hard to
believe), or they're just turning a blind eye. It can even be
assumed someone is earning something from all this. Otherwise, how
to explain the fact that the peacekeepers aren't checking those who
enter Karabakh, but create obstacles for those who want to leave?
It's enough to recall the recent case with Izaura Balasanyan, whom
the peacekeepers surrendered to the separatists because of an
attempt to go to Shusha.
We clearly understand that such obstacles, just as the seizing of
"passports" of Armenians currently living in Karabakh, or the ban
on sale of apartments, aim to stop the outflow of Armenians from
the region.
As recorded by means of visual control, during the period from July
11 to August 8, about 20,000 people left Khankendi towards Armenia,
and only 15, entered Khankendi. The peacekeepers also see and
understand this - if their temporary zone of responsibility is
empty, the question of the expediency of the presence of the
peacekeepers in Karabakh will arise.
Azerbaijan sees everything, documents it, and makes relevant
conclusions. We've presented the Iranian side with specific facts
that cannot be refuted. Gone are the days when Iranian companies
were illegally rebuilt the upper Govhar Agha mosque in Shusha,
“transforming” it from Azerbaijani to Persian, and Tehran was
cynically denying this. Today we see everything. How will Iran now
answer to the Azerbaijani people?
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