Iran, Azerbaijan Exchange Accusations over an Israeli Proposal

Azerbaijani soldiers patrolling Agdam after it was recovered from Armenia in November 2020 (AP)
Azerbaijani soldiers patrolling Agdam after it was recovered from Armenia in November 2020 (AP)
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Iran, Azerbaijan Exchange Accusations over an Israeli Proposal

Azerbaijani soldiers patrolling Agdam after it was recovered from Armenia in November 2020 (AP)
Azerbaijani soldiers patrolling Agdam after it was recovered from Armenia in November 2020 (AP)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's statements regarding the agreement with his Azerbaijani counterpart on "forming a united front" against Tehran.

Iranian Al-Alam TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying that Tehran sees the statements of the Israeli and Azeri foreign ministers as an "implicit affirmation of cooperation between the two anti-Iran sides," and demanded an explanation from the Azeri authorities in this regard.

Kanani said that these remarks show "sinister intentions" of Israel to turn the territory of Azerbaijan "into a national security threat" for Iran.

Azerbaijan quickly responded to the Iranian threats, saying Tehran would "never intimidate" Baku, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry warned that the Iranian statement is the next step toward the crisis in the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, adding that the Iranian-Armenian rapprochement "remains a threat to the entire region."

"Over the past 30 years, Iran has, with its tacit consent, turned a blind eye to Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories over the past 30 years."

The Azeri Ministry stated that Iran ignored the occupation of Karabakh and East Zangazur and plundering these territories, the sale of stones demolished from houses in these territories in Iranian markets, and the destruction and destruction and desecration of 65 of the existing 67 mosques.

The statement concluded that despite the military support sent from Iranian territory to Armenia, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan destroyed the occupying Armed Forces of Armenia in 2020.

Last Wednesday, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel in the presence of the two countries' foreign ministers.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran were also tense after an attack on the Baku embassy in Tehran last January.

On Thursday, Cohen said he had discussed with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides blacklisting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

In a tweet about the meeting, he said they discussed boosting regional alliance and joint efforts to combat terrorism "in light of the Iranian attack on Israelis and Jews in Greece that was thwarted" last week.

Cohen said earlier Thursday that he discussed with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos what he called the battle against the terrorist regime in Tehran that threatens regional stability.

He indicated that the Iranian regime "threatens both our regions, finances terrorism, and destabilizes the entire Middle East," adding that he asked the foreign ministers of Greece and Cyprus to move to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization in the EU.

On Thursday, Azerbaijan denounced the "defamatory" statements by a top Iranian military commander in the latest indication of strained relations between the two neighbors.

The Ministry of Defense said that Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kioumars Haidari said that ISIS terrorists fought for Azerbaijan and were still present in the country.

The Ministry said that Haidari made vile defamatory, and slanderous statements regarding Azerbaijan, saying they were "unfounded and completely unacceptable."

In January, Azerbaijan closed its embassy in Tehran following a "terror attack" that killed the embassy's security chief.

Baku is also not satisfied with signs of improvement in relations between Iran and Armenia after the 2020 war against Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The Iranian side had never made compromising statements about Armenia," read the statement, adding: "the Iranian-Armenian brotherhood strengthened during this period. It is obvious that in the world, there are two main allies of Armenia, one of which is France, and the other is Iran."



Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
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Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Türkiye on Wednesday again insisted on a two-state peace accord in ethnically divided Cyprus as the United Nations prepares to meet with all sides in early spring in hopes of restarting formal talks to resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Cyprus “must continue on the path of a two-state solution” and that expending efforts on other arrangements ending Cyprus’ half-century divide would be “a waste of time.”
Fidan spoke to reporters after talks with Ersin Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots whose declaration of independence in 1983 in Cyprus’ northern third is recognized only by Türkiye.
Cyprus’ ethnic division occurred in 1974 when Türkiye invaded in the wake of a coup, sponsored by the junta then ruling Greece, that aimed to unite the island in the eastern Mediterranean with the Greek state.
The most recent major push for a peace deal collapsed in 2017.
Since then, Türkiye has advocated for a two-state arrangement in which the numerically fewer Turkish Cypriots would never be the minority in any power-sharing arrangement.
But Greek Cypriots do not support a two-state deal that they see as formalizing the island’s partition and perpetuating what they see as a threat of a permanent Turkish military presence on the island.
Greek Cypriot officials have maintained that the 2017 talks collapsed primarily on Türkiye’s insistence on permanently keeping at least some of its estimated 35,000 troops currently in the island's breakaway north, and on enshrining military intervention rights in any new peace deal.
The UN the European Union and others have rejected a two-state deal for Cyprus, saying the only way forward is a federation agreement with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing to host an informal meeting in Switzerland in March to hear what each side envisions for a peace deal. Last year, an envoy Guterres dispatched to Cyprus reportedly concluded that there's no common ground for a return to talks.
The island’s Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides says he’s ready to resume formal talks immediately but has ruled out any discussion on a two-state arrangement.
Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said the meeting will bring together the two sides in Cyprus, the foreign ministers of “guarantor powers” Greece and Türkiye and a senior British official to chart “the next steps” regarding Cyprus’ future.
A peace deal would not only remove a source of instability in the eastern Mediterranean, but could also expedite the development of natural gas deposits inside Cyprus' offshore economic zone that Türkiye disputes.