Farid Shafiyev: Iran's drone attack on Nakhchivan was carried out intentionally

It can be said that Iran's drone attack on Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan was carried out deliberately, said Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), Report informs.

He noted that it remains a question whether the decision to attack Nakhchivan was made by Iran's central command or by lower-level personnel:

"However, based on information from certain social media accounts linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it is presumed that the decision was made by them. Undoubtedly, this incident is not an accident. The attacks were not carried out with a single drone, but with several unmanned aerial vehicles targeting two sites in Nakhchivan - the international airport and a school. Therefore, it can be said that Iran's drone attack on Nakhchivan was carried out deliberately. Likewise, I do not believe that the missile strike on Türkiye was accidental either."

According to the AIR Center chairman, the currently observed trend is that even countries that have played no role in the war are beginning to express critical positions against Iran:

"While many measure the success of negotiations by how quickly a result is achieved, Iranians take pride in prolonging negotiations and delaying decision-making. The issue here is not only the nuclear deal. For example, for approximately 20 years, Iran has been prolonging negotiations on the North-South transport corridor with its political ally Russia. Yet this project could bring economic benefits to all three countries (Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan). However, Tehran sometimes slows the process not by considering the benefits it would gain, but by taking into account the advantages Azerbaijan could gain from this project. The same approach can be seen in the matter of ratifying the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea adopted in 2018. Iran has still not ratified the document. For this reason, when conducting analysis, one must momentarily set aside the Israel or US factor."

Shafiyev emphasized that Iran's extraordinary behavior is clearly visible in its treatment of its own citizens:

"Although this country possesses enormous energy resources, its population frequently faces water and electricity shortages. In such circumstances, it is logical that questions arise about the extent to which the Iranian authorities will take into account the interests of their Muslim neighbors."