New war concern: Azerbaijan launched an operation in Karabakh
While rising tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia following the Karabakh war, which broke out in 2020, raised concerns about a “new war,” today tensions suddenly spiked.
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced the launch of an anti-terrorist operation in the region to restore the constitutional structure in Karabakh. The statement said: “Civilians and infrastructure facilities are not targeted, only legitimate military targets are destroyed. “The Russian Peace Forces Command and the Directorate of the Turkish-Russian Joint Observation Center were informed about the implemented measures.”
In the region where tension is rapidly rising, four Azerbaijani police officers were martyred as a result of a mine explosion planted by Armenian forces. Two Azerbaijani soldiers were injured in the fire opened by illegal Armenian forces in Karabakh.
Yesterday, Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia immediately withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijani territory and dissolve the military and administrative structure of the so-called Armenian-affiliated regime.
SCANDAL COMMENT BY THE IRANIAN PRESS
Within the framework of the ceasefire agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia after the 2020 war, it was decided to open a new corridor connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. However, disagreement has recently been growing between Baku and Yerevan over the highway that Azerbaijan describes as the “Zengezur Corridor” and which aims to connect the country with the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan and Turkey.
Experts from the region who spoke to AFP claimed that the war in Karabakh could resume at any time, while Iran, which has recently stepped up its cooperation with Armenia, made an outrageous comment.
Iranian media wrote that the Zangezur Corridor, which will connect Azerbaijan and Turkey, will threaten Tehran’s geopolitical influence in the region and cut the Iran-Armenia line, which is important for Tehran to maintain its land connection with Russia. The Ham Mihan newspaper, close to Iranian reformists, commented that Tehran could provide military support to Armenia against Turkey in the event of war.
Iran, which has recently openly supported Armenia, had previously made statements directed at Turkey.
The war in Karabakh, which lasted a month and a half in 2020, ended with a fragile ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia, and there is no progress in recent peace talks.