Iran military delegation concludes Azerbaijan trip

A military delegation from Iran will conclude its visit to Azerbaijan today.

The group visited areas seized from Armenia—which Azerbaijan refers to as “liberated territories”—during the 2020 Karabakh war, including the Barda and Tartar districts which suffered heavy artillery and rocket attacks during the 44-day conflict. Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan soured during the war when the former was caught sending supplies and weapons to Armenia but have since been improved due to persistent diplomatic initiatives last year.

Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan may continue to warm, leading to further economic cooperation in the short term. On the table is the construction of three joint power plants in Azerbaijan as well as a trilateral gas deal that would help transport fuel from Turkmenistan. Moreover, Tehran may stabilize relations with Baku due to a separate deal that would see Iran tap into Russian energy networks through Azerbaijan. In the long-term, these developments indicate a more flexible Iran as cooperation with Baku had previously been made difficult by close ties Baku maintains with Israel. Tehran’s willingness to overlook its animosity towards Israel in order to do business indicates the Islamic Republic is potentially more open to negotiations regarding the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which would restrict Iranian nuclear capabilities in exchange for the removal of Western sanctions.