Azerbaijan has relatively warm relations with Israel, which include oil supplies to the Jewish state from Azerbaijan and military aid to Azerbaijan from Israel.
Iran is set to hold military exercises on its border with Azerbaijan in an attempt to challenge what it claims is “the presence of the Zionist regime” in the area.
The exercises include a large amount of materiel, such as armored units and attack helicopters, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Azerbaijan has relatively warm relations with Israel, which include oil supplies to the Jewish state from Azerbaijan and military aid to Azerbaijan from Israel. This in stark contrast to Iran’s theocratic regime, which regularly calls for the genocide of Israel’s Jews and engages in crude anti-Semitic propaganda.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh explicitly connected the military exercises to what he called “the presence of Israel” in Azerbaijan.
“It’s clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not tolerate the presence of the Zionist regime near its borders, and in this respect, it will implement any action it deems necessary for its national security,” he said.
Tellingly, the exercises have been titled “Conquerors of Khaybar,” a reference to the defeat and ultimate ethnic cleansing of a Jewish tribe in Arabia by Muhammad’s army.