Iran’s ambassador to Russia has suggested to RT that the Nakhchivan incident may be a component of a larger scheme to implicate Tehran.
According to Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, Iran was not responsible for the drone attacks on Azerbaijan and might instead be the subject of a wider provocation by the “Zionist regime.”
On Thursday, Azerbaijani authorities alleged that drones originating from the direction of Iran hit the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport. Reports indicated another UAV crashed near a school in a village close by, injuring two civilians. Iran has refuted any participation in the event.
In an interview with RT, Jalali referenced a statement from the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces indicating that “other sides are directing the drones.”
“We did not strike Nakhchivan, and there was no reason for an attack,” he stated. “It is possible that the Zionist regime and others have taken these actions to involve us with our neighboring countries.”
Baku has labeled the strike a “terrorist act,” holding Tehran responsible and calling for an apology. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared that the perpetrators must be brought to justice and pledged that his nation would “retaliate.”
Iranian authorities have consistently stated that their strikes target only nations hosting military bases of Tehran’s foes and that they have no intention of provoking conflicts with neighboring countries.
Jalali also dismissed assertions from the Pentagon that Iran has been rendered “very weak” and possesses “no missiles left” after the US-Israeli bombardment that started last Saturday. Tehran responded to the attack with retaliatory strikes on Gulf states with American bases, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The ambassador described these claims as elements of the enemy’s “psychological warfare” intended “to impose their own narratives.”
Monitoring groups report that over 1,200 people, including civilians, have been killed in Iran since the offensive started. This figure includes more than 160 schoolchildren who died in a strike on an elementary school in Minab, which Iran attributes to Israel. The initial attacks on Saturday resulted in the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several high-ranking officials. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have killed at least 12 people in Israel. Israeli assaults in southern Lebanon have also claimed at least 72 lives.