Analysts note subsiding tension in relations between Baku and Tehran

Tension in relations between Baku and Tehran is subsiding, and the release of Iranian truck drivers and an order for Iranian carriers to stop travelling to the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh will contribute to the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, Azerbaijani analysts suggest.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on September 11, an Azerbaijani police checkpoint was opened in the border area between the Armenian cities of Goris and Kapan. On September 15, it was reported about the detention of two Iranian truck drivers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Azerbaijan claimed that they illegally crossed the border. Today, Baku has announced their release.

The Iranian authorities have banned the transport companies of the country from entering Karabakh and the Lachin District.

“The source of tension between Baku and Tehran can be considered exhausted. It all started with Iran ignoring the Baku’s requests to stop transportation to Karabakh through the Lachin corridor, bypassing the Azerbaijani laws ... But yesterday, Iran announced the termination of transportation of cargos through Karabakh,” said Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijani National Public Committee for European Integration.

Tofig Turkel, an observer of the “Turan” agency, believes that the tension between the two countries will decrease. According to him, it is important for Azerbaijan that Iran respects the sovereign rights of Baku.

According to an author of the “Wind from Absheron” blog on the “Caucasian Knot”, at the same time, “there remain deep Azerbaijan-Iranian problems caused by the national interests of about 20 million Azerbaijanis living in Iran.”