BAKU – Azerbaijan warned on Thursday that it was preparing unspecified response measures after two Iranian drones flew across its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concern about further spillover of the conflict in the Middle East.
“These attacks will not remain unanswered,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It added that it was investigating the types of drones used in the attack, and “preparing the necessary response measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and to ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure”.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied Tehran had targeted Nakhchivan.
“We do not attack our neighbouring countries,” he told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ.
The Foreign Ministry earlier demanded that Iran “clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future”, adding that the incident “contributes to increased tensions in the region”.
It handed a note of protest to the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Iran already have tense relations over Baku’s growing economic, energy and military ties to NATO member Turkey and Israel, and the escalating U.S.–Iran war risks touching off violence between the neighbours.
Azerbaijan said one drone fell on the terminal building of the Nakhchivan International Airport, which is approximately 10 km (6 miles) across the border from Iran, and another drone landed close to a school building in a nearby village.
The four injured were taken to hospital, where they are in stable condition, the Health Ministry in the landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Iran and Turkey told Reuters.
Video footage verified by Reuters showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Guy Faulconbridge and Andrei Khalip)
