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Azerbaijani Media Blasts Iranian Ambassador Over Post-War Accusations

Azerbaijani media has launched a scathing attack on Iran's Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, accusing him of diplomatic sabotage following recent remarks he made in Yerevan. The criticism centers on Sobhani's suggestion that Azerbaijani territory may have been used for drone attacks against Iran during the recent "12-day war" with Israel. The ambassador's comments, made shortly after a phone call between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the new Iranian President, have been labeled a destructive attempt to undermine bilateral relations.

In an article titled "Diplomat or saboteur? What is the Iranian ambassador doing in Yerevan?" the outlet AzeMedia condemned Sobhani's statements to Armenian journalists. The article cites the ambassador's hardened tone, quoting him as saying, "We are ready to die, but we will not tolerate those who speak to us in the language of threats and force." Sobhani then directly implicated neighboring countries, stating, "We have received information that a small number of drones entered Iranian territory from neighboring countries," and demanded a "serious investigation" from Azerbaijan. He speculated that the "hostile Zionist regime" may have used a neighbor's territory despite assurances from Baku that it would never be used for anti-Iran activities.

The Azerbaijani media outlet countered these demands by asserting Azerbaijan's sovereignty and effective control over its territory, dismissing the notion of covert Israeli operations from its soil as "fairy tales for children." The report emphasized President Aliyev's principle that "our word carries the same weight as our signature," implying that Tehran should trust high-level assurances over the ambassador's inflammatory rhetoric. The article argues that Sobhani, who reportedly has a background in Iranian intelligence services, is intentionally trying to please his Armenian hosts by framing Azerbaijan as a "convenient enemy."

Furthermore, the critique pivots from defending Azerbaijan to highlighting Iran's internal security failures during the conflict. The publication claims that the majority of Israeli drones—as many as 75%—were launched from within Iran, suggesting a massive intelligence breakdown. It points to Iran's neutralized air defenses and the precision of Israeli strikes against key military targets as evidence of widespread infiltration. The article posits that rather than addressing its vulnerabilities, Tehran, through officials like Sobhani, is attempting to divert public attention by assigning blame externally.

This is not the first time Sobhani has drawn ire from Baku. The media report recalls a previous instance where the ambassador claimed "the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have the right to self-determination," a statement that directly challenged Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and later required a retraction from Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister. The article concludes with a direct call for President Pezeshkian to "rein in his ambassador," questioning how many diplomatic blunders will be tolerated before he is removed from his post and demanding clarity on whether Baku should heed official statements from Tehran or what the outlet calls the "outright sabotage" of its envoy in Yerevan.

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