New tension in relations between Iran and Azerbaijan due to Tehran’s drugs

Mahmoud Mohammadi

From time to time, Iran and its neighbor Azerbaijan witness severe tensions, sometimes militarily and other times economically.

In a new scene of tension in the relationship between the two countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran and Armenia of smuggling tons of drugs to Europe through border areas.

Drugs and terrorism

In a speech at a multilateral official summit attended by the representative of Armenia, Aliyev said that Iran and Armenia have cooperated in sending drugs to Europe through the occupied territories over the past 30 years.

He explained that after the liberation of these areas by Azerbaijan, Iran intensified drug trafficking from other border areas of Azerbaijan, and during this period, the quantity of heroin sent from Iran to Europe doubled.

Aliyev said that in addition to the drug trade, terrorist groups are trained in the region,notingthat there is sufficient evidence in this regard.

Iran denies

In turn, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, criticized Aliyev’s comments and denied Iran’s involvement in sending drugs to Europe through the border areas with Armenia, saying that the Azerbaijani president’s statements are accusations and “a trap commissioned by Satan.”

Shamkhani also tweeted that Aliyev’s comments were unconstructive and did not take into account good-neighborly principles, according to Iran International TV.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry described these allegations as fabricated and astonishing, as well as serving Israel’s interests.

In recent weeks, Iran has accused Azerbaijan of violating the export of goods to Armenia, attempting to change the Armenian-Iranian border, delivering Israel to the Iranian border, and settling terrorist takfirist groups in the liberated mountain areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as conducting military maneuvers near Azerbaijan’s borders.

During the 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia last fall, which led to the liberation of land occupied by the Armenian army, 130 kilometers were liberated from the joint border with Iran.