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Tension Mounts Between Tehran, Baku Following IRGC Military Drills

Photo published by the IRGC websites of its ground forces during previous exercises near the Azerbaijani border.
Photo published by the IRGC websites of its ground forces during previous exercises near the Azerbaijani border.
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Tension Mounts Between Tehran, Baku Following IRGC Military Drills

Photo published by the IRGC websites of its ground forces during previous exercises near the Azerbaijani border.
Photo published by the IRGC websites of its ground forces during previous exercises near the Azerbaijani border.

Tension escalated between Iran and its neighbor Azerbaijan over statements by President Ilham Aliyev, in which he criticized Iran’s military exercise near his country’s borders.

In an interview with Turkish Anadolu agency on the occasion of the first anniversary of Azerbaijan’s liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh from the 30-year rule of Armenia with the support of Turkey, Aliyev pointed to the military maneuver, which Iran recently carried out near the Azerbaijani borders, saying: “This is a very surprising event. Each country can conduct military exercises on its territory. This, of course, is its sovereign right. At the same time, analyzing this at a certain point of time, we see that this has not happened before.”

He continued: “Why now? Why exactly on our border? These questions are being asked by the Azerbaijani public, not me… They are also asking why no exercises were carried out in this region during the years of occupation? Why weren’t any exercises held when the Armenians were in Jabrayil, Zangilan and Fuzuli? Why are they being held after we have liberated our lands and put an end to 30 years of occupation? These are legitimate questions.”

In response to Aliyev’s statements, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the military maneuvers of the IRGC ground forces, which are conducted in areas bordering northern Iran, were a sovereign matter for the sake of peace and stability in the entire region. He warned that Iran “will not tolerate the presence of the Zionist entity (Israel) near its borders, and will take what it deems necessary for its security.”

In his interview with Anadolu, the president of Azerbaijan also commented on recent reports about Iranian trucks illegally crossing into the Karabakh region.

He said: “This is not the first time that Iranian trucks have entered the Karabakh region. This has happened several times during the occupation. These trucks went there on a regular basis, and we are aware of that. But, of course, there was no exact information, as accurate as the latest report. Taking this into account, we expressed our dissatisfaction to the Iranian side through various channels. But this process continued.”

“We hoped this would be stopped. However, from Aug. 11 to Sept. 11, about 60 trucks from Iran illegally entered Karabakh again. To prevent this, we already switched to specific action,” the president added, noting that his country installed customs and police checkpoints to control the road leading to Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan.

“They also have to pay a duty. Don’t we pay a duty when we travel to a foreign country? We do. They are using the territory of Azerbaijan, so aren’t they supposed to pay?” He asked.

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North Korea Bans Foreign Tourists to Newly Opened Beach Resort

(FILES) Domestic tourists watch as a man uses a slide into a swimming pool at the Myongsasimni Water Park in the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area in Wonsan, North Korea's Kangwon Province on July 2, 2025. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP)
(FILES) Domestic tourists watch as a man uses a slide into a swimming pool at the Myongsasimni Water Park in the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area in Wonsan, North Korea's Kangwon Province on July 2, 2025. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP)
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North Korea Bans Foreign Tourists to Newly Opened Beach Resort

(FILES) Domestic tourists watch as a man uses a slide into a swimming pool at the Myongsasimni Water Park in the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area in Wonsan, North Korea's Kangwon Province on July 2, 2025. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP)
(FILES) Domestic tourists watch as a man uses a slide into a swimming pool at the Myongsasimni Water Park in the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area in Wonsan, North Korea's Kangwon Province on July 2, 2025. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP)

North Korea is banning the entry of foreign tourists to a recently opened mega beach resort, a move that dims prospects for the complex that leader Kim Jong Un hailed it as “one of the greatest successes this year.”

DPR Korea Tour, a website run by North Korea’s tourism authorities, said in a notice Friday that the eastern coastal Wonsan-Kalma tourist complex “is temporarily not receiving foreign tourists.” It gave no further details including why a ban was established or how long it would last, The Associated Press reported.

North Korea says the complex can accommodate nearly 20,000 guests. The resort opened to domestic tourists July 1 before receiving a small group of Russian tourists last week. Observers expected North Korea to open the resort to Chinese tourists while largely blocking other international tourists.

The announcement came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to the complex to meet Kim and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui for talks last weekend.

North Korea and Russia have sharply expanded military and other cooperation in recent years, with North Korea supplying weapons and troops to back Russia’s war against Ukraine. During a meeting with Choe, Lavrov promised to take steps to support Russian travel to the zone.

“I am sure that Russian tourists will be increasingly eager to come here,” he said.

But experts say North Korea likely decided to halt foreigner travels to the zone because of a newspaper article by a Russian reporter who travelled with Lavrov that implied North Koreans at the zone appeared to be mobilized by authorities and not real tourists.

“The North Korean government is believed to have determined that it would face some negative consequences when it opens the site to foreigners,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

Oh said the ban would include Russians, but the North Korea-focused NK News website, citing tour groups specializing in North Korea trips, said Russians won't likely be targeted.

Analyst Lee Sangkeun of Seoul's Institute for National Security Strategy said the ban could be associated with difficulties in recruiting Russian tourists because many would consider North Korea too far away and the trip too expensive.

Experts say North Korea must open the Wonsan-Kalma zone, the country’s biggest tourist complex, to Russian and Chinese tourists, given what was likely a huge construction and operational expenditure from the country’s tight budget.

“If foreign tourists aren't allowed to the site, no Russian rubles, Chinese yuans and dollars won't come in. Then, North Korea can't break even and it has to shut down the resort,” said Ahn Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korean Studies think tank in Seoul.

Kim has said the site would be “one of the greatest successes this year” and “the proud first step” in tourism development. North Korea’s state media reports the Wonsan-Kalma site has been crowded with local tourists.

The first group of 15 Russian tourists arrived in the resort July 11 after visiting Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, NK News reported earlier this week.

“It was magnificent. Everything is new, clean and stunning," Russian tourist Nina Svirida said in the report.

North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. But the country hasn’t said if it would fully resume international tourism.

Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled. In February, North Korea allowed a small group of international tourists to visit the northeastern city of Rason, only to stop the program in less than a month.