As two countries with several historical, cultural and religious commonalities, Iran and Azerbaijan have experienced several ups and downs in their bilateral relations.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and declaration of the Parliament of Azerbaijan to restore independence of Azerbaijan Republic on October 18, 1991 and in early December 1991, the Islamic Republic of Iran was one of the first countries which established full diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan.
Iranian Foreign Minister of that time Ali Akbar Velayati visited Baku, where he signed a number of agreements on political, economic, and cultural cooperation and pledged to support Azerbaijan's membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation).
Speaking to Khabar Online, an Iranian analyst of middle Asia and Transcaucasia affairs, Sho’eib Bahman said that in of geographical terms, Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have both located on the margins of the Caspian Sea, they also have land borders. On the other hand, Iran is the most significant neighbor of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and has the longest borders with Azerbaijan in the south Transcaucasia. From religious, racial and even lingual aspects, Tehran and Baku share several things as both have the majority Shiite population.
Although such commonalities lead to the establishment of rapport ties between the countries, during the last years Iran and Azerbaijan has turned to be strained. As a matter of fact, instead of focusing on cultural, political and economic approaches, the approach of the two countries to each other has been based on security issues.
Some tensions between the two Muslim countries include the growing relationship between the United States, Israel, and Azerbaijan, Caspian Sea territorial issues, and Iran's support for Armenia. However they have enjoyed cooperation in many different areas including trade, security, and the energy sector. Despite all disputes, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan had said that he did not support a United States attack against Iran.
Nevertheless in observing the relations between Tehran and Baku a number of issues must be taken into consideration:
Religion: after Iran, Azerbaijan is the second country which has a majority of Shiite population in Transcaucasia. However in recent years the government of Azerbaijan has adopted anti-religion policies which were disapproved by Iran and influenced the ties between the two countries.
The foreign policy of Azerbaijan: one of the reasons behind the deterioration of ties between Tehran and Baku is that Azerbaijan administration has followed the policy of establishing close ties with the West. It has made efforts to boost relations with the United States, Israel and has tended to become a member of NATO. In the meantime, the Iranian government deem all these efforts as a threat against the security of the Islamic Republic.
Azerbaijan’s unfounded territorial claims over Iran: during the last years, unfounded claims made by those who are called “Azeri nationalists” have played an important role in deteriorating the relations between the two neighboring countries. Allegations on the north and south Azerbaijan or the great Azerbaijan and Ilham Aliyev's attitude of calling Iranian Azeri's as "Azerbaijanis who live in Iran” had no advantage except straining the ties between the two countries.
Whenever the issue of Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear plants is raised, the issue of using Azerbaijan land for accomplishing such task is also raised. Anyhow, Azerbaijan's government has repeatedly rejected such idea.
Generally due to historical and cultural ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, potentials for developing relations between the two countries- as Azeri statesmen clearly understand the improving position of Iran in the geopolitical equations in the region particularly Iran's peace efforts in the Nargorno-Karabakh conflict -Baku would not let the foreign forces to use its territory against launching any attack against Iran. Furthermore, according to a protocol signed by the two countries in 2002, they agreed not to allow any country to use their lands as a base for invasion against them.
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