Azerbaijan said Thursday that drones launched from Iran struck a military-civilian airport in the country’s Nakhchivan exclave, wounding two people in what appears to be the first Iranian attack on its northern neighbor since the war began.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the drones hit an airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani enclave located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Iranian border. Two people were reported injured.
Iranian drone strikes Azerbaijan airport, wounding two
If confirmed as a deliberate strike by Tehran, it would mark the first time Iran has attacked Azerbaijan since the war erupted over the weekend.
The statement came shortly after a source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters that missiles and drones launched from Iran had fallen inside the airport compound.
Azerbaijan said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador in Baku for an urgent reprimand and warned it “reserves the right to respond.”
Video circulating online appeared to show the moment a drone struck the airport. In the footage, several people can be seen looking toward the site before a large explosion erupts and flames rise from the area. The video could not be independently verified.
Nakhchivan is a semi-autonomous republic belonging to Azerbaijan and separated from the rest of the country by Armenia. The enclave, home to roughly 460,000 people, has no direct land connection to mainland Azerbaijan.
The moment of the explosion and fireball: Drone strike at an airport in Azerbaijan
Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan have long been complex. Both countries have majority Shiite populations, and millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran, with some holding senior positions in the country’s political and military establishment.
At the same time, Azerbaijan is a secular state and maintains close security and military cooperation with Israel, including purchases of Israeli weapons systems.
In the past, Azerbaijani authorities have said they foiled several Iranian attempts to carry out attacks on their territory, including plots targeting Israeli sites.
Those alleged plots included plans to attack Israel’s embassy in Baku and members of the Israeli delegation to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest held in the Azerbaijani capital.