Iranian ex-FM advises Azerbaijan against trying to buy security from foreigners

Amid reported efforts by Azerbaijan to lean further towards the Israeli regime by hosting Israeli elements, a former Iranian foreign minister has strongly warned the Caucasus republic against trying to import security from abroad.
Kamal
Kharrazi, currently the head of the Islamic Republic’s Strategic Council on
Foreign Relations, made the remarks on Tuesday, urging Baku to rather depend on
its own people to meet its national security requirements.
He
denounced dependence on overseas’ sources for security as an illogical and
irrational solution, “because, given their illegitimate goals and interests,
this can lead to arms race in the region and even end up afflicting damage or
even ruination on the host country.”
Moreover,
the potential increase in the role that is played by the foreign forces would,
by extension, lead to greater dependence on the part of the receiving country
on the foreign presence, added the official.
The
remarks came after current Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sounded a
warning concerning certain provocations by the Israeli regime near Iran’s
borders in Azerbaijan.
The
regime, he said, used the flare-up of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia
over the Nagorno-Karabakh region last year to establish a presence in parts of
Azerbaijan.
He, however, called the efforts “abortive” and declared, “We
never tolerate the Zionist regime’s presence and its provocative measures near
the Islamic Republic’s borders.” The regime, the top diplomat asserted, has no
place in the region’s future.
Kharrazi,
who also used to serve as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations from the late
1980s until the late 1990s, cited the example of the regional countries, which
had allowed in foreign troops, and ended up growing dependent on them for their
military power.
“If,
today, the Islamic Republic is one of the region’s undisputed powers, it is
because of its [opting for] self-reliance and independence from foreign
forces,” he stated.
“Undoubtedly,
the Zionist regime has not set up a lair in Azerbaijan without any
expectations. It harbors the sinister goal of igniting war in the region on the
back of the current [Azerbaijani] government’s strategic mistake. And this
would be a tragic disaster,” Kharrazi said.
The
Iranian Army’s Ground Forces on Friday held military exercises codenamed
Fatehan-e Khaybar (Conquerors of Khaybar) in the northwestern part of the
country.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has criticized Iran’s exercises. Tehran has hit back by saying that holding drills is part of the national sovereignty, warning that Israel’s anti-Iran activities in neighboring countries will not be tolerated.