Does Tehran want to normalize relations with Baku?

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his Iranian counterpart Huseyn Amir Abdullahian within the framework of the 26th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization in Tashkent. It was not disclosed what was discussed in the meeting. On the same day, Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant of the Azerbaijani president, met with Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan. It was not announced what specific topics were discussed in this meeting. It is understandable. The tension in the relationship has progressed to such an extent that it is preferable not to disclose the topics discussed.

If Tehran wants to reduce the level of tension in relations with Azerbaijan, 1) it should not interfere in Azerbaijan's internal affairs - our choice of which country to be friends and partners with; 2) There should be no obstacles to the realization of the Zangezur corridor; 3) Iran's clerics, generals, deputies should stop their speeches and statements against Azerbaijan. There is little confidence that Tehran will meet these minimum conditions. On the other hand, even if Iran's foreign minister or ambassador to our country wants to improve the situation, it is not up to them. The conservative circles in Tehran and Qom, including one of the SEPAH generals, making an anti-Azerbaijani statement or sharing an internet image, will underline the activities of the diplomats for the normalization of relations. This has happened many times.

There is a statement memorized by Iranian officials and diplomats: "Countries that do not belong to the region should not be allowed to interfere in our affairs." Tehran supports Armenia, and Iranian officials announce that "Armenia's security is Iran's security." However, at the moment, the official Yerevan is pursuing a policy contrary to Tehran's thesis. It is Armenia that invited the European Union monitoring mission to the region. Azerbaijan, on the contrary, is against it. On the other hand, France will be widely represented in that mission. Tehran-Paris relations are tense. It turns out that the biggest threat to Iran's regional interests is related to the policy of the official Yerevan. For example, the Kremlin has criticized the invitation of the European Union mission of the Armenian authorities to the contact line with Azerbaijan, and is of the opinion that this will not solve the existing problems. Tehran has not yet made a statement regarding the European Union mission. Because if Tehran criticizes the mission of the European Union, which will be located near the border of Iran, it should automatically criticize Armenia, which invited that mission to the region. Tehran is not ready to criticize Armenia. It seems that Tehran does not want to strain relations with both Baku and Yerevan at the same time. Iran's relations with Azerbaijan have been up and down for many years, but Tehran has never experienced any problems in its relations with Armenia. Therefore, Tehran is not ready to change its policy towards Armenia. However, Yerevan, which invited the European Union mission to the region for at least two years, did not take into account the interests of Iran as well as Russia.