Iran Warns Azerbaijan of Exploiting Third Parties to Threaten Its Security

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan (EPA)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan (EPA)
TT

Iran Warns Azerbaijan of Exploiting Third Parties to Threaten Its Security

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan (EPA)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan (EPA)

Iran affirmed its "good" relations with Azerbaijan, despite Tehran's accusation that the military maneuvers on the border are being used to launch Israeli activity, which Baku denies.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned Azerbaijan against allowing "third parties" to act against it, saying it knows "how to maintain its security."

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that Armenia shares Iran's concern about the alleged Israeli presence in Azerbaijan.

Amirabdollahian said at a joint press conference in Tehran with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan that "we are witnessing the presence of foreign terrorists and the destructive activities of the Zionist regime in the region."

In a press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the Armenian foreign minister's visit to Tehran was pre-scheduled to expand bilateral relations.

The spokesman said his country enjoys good relations with both Baku and Yerevan, and its relations with one nation are not against another, according to a report by the Iranian news agency (IRNA).

Khatibzadeh was asked about "the presence of terrorists" in Azerbaijan near the Iranian border. He indicated that Iran had received reports on this issue since the war between Baku and Yerevan.

"We have informed our friends in Baku, and they asserted during the various meetings that there is no threat to other countries."

Turkey brought "Syrian mercenaries" from northern Syria to Azerbaijan to help fight against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.

Khatibzadeh noted that Tehran informed Baku from the beginning that it recognizes Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and national sovereignty, and it helped preserve it.

Baku should not allow its borders and country to be used by third parties against Iran, asserted the spokesman.

"Iran knows how to maintain its security, and it is only right that Baku fulfills its sovereign duties," said Khatibzadeh about allegations that the Israelis used Azerbaijan's territory to conduct activities inside Iran.

Khatibzadeh addressed the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani drills in Nakhchivan, saying everyone must help bring peace, stability, and calm to this region.

"Unfortunately, many military maneuvers have been conducted in this region without any justification during the past weeks."

Turkey and Azerbaijan launched their joint military maneuvers days after Iran started similar drills near its border.

Turkish Defense Ministry spokeswoman Pinar Kara said the "Steadfast Brotherhood-2021" drill would occur in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, between 5-8 October.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan rejected allegations of foreign intervention in its affairs, saying it pursues an independent policy based on national interests.

"We do not accept the allegations about the presence of any third forces near the Azerbaijan-Iran border … these views have no basis," Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said.

She emphasized the importance of "friendly and good-neighborly relations with neighboring countries."

Abdullayeva stressed that Azerbaijan supports the establishment of relations with all countries based on respect for each other's international borders, which is the unchanging position of the country.

She recalled that Azerbaijan has suffered for decades from the military occupation of part of its territory and the violation of its international borders.

The spokesperson stressed that the inviolability of internationally recognized borders is one of the fundamental principles Azerbaijan has always been guided by.



US Imposes Sanctions on Entities in Iran, Russia over Election Interference

A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
TT

US Imposes Sanctions on Entities in Iran, Russia over Election Interference

A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A man walks past a graffiti depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, drawn on the walls of the former US embassy headquarters in Tehran on December 30, 2024. (AFP)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the 2024 US election.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement the entities - a subsidiary of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an organization affiliated with Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) - aimed to "stoke socio-political tensions and influence the US electorate during the 2024 US election".

"The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.

"The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy."

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and Russia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Republican Donald Trump was elected president in November, beating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House.

The Treasury said the Cognitive Design Production Center planned influence operations since at least 2023 designed to incite tensions among the electorate on behalf of the IRGC.

The Treasury accused the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) of circulating disinformation about candidates in the election as well as directing and subsidizing the creation of deepfakes.

The Treasury said CGE also manipulated a video to produce "baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate." It did not specify which candidate was targeted.

The Moscow-based center, at the direction of the GRU, used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation distributed across a network of websites that were designed to look like legitimate news outlets, the Treasury said.

It accused the GRU of providing financial support to CGE and a network of US-based facilitators in order to build and maintain its AI-support server and maintain a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations.

CGE's director was also hit with sanctions in Tuesday's action.

An annual US threat assessment released in October said the United States sees a growing threat of Russia, Iran and China attempting to influence the elections, including by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake or divisive information.