“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers Karabakh as part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and believes that its issues, including the rights and security of its residents, should be resolved in this framework and through dialogue,” Kanaani said on Tuesday. 

The statement came after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in Karabakh earlier in the day, almost three years after it went to war with Armenia over the disputed mountainous region.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has been populated by ethnic Armenians. In 2020, Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains in a six-week war that killed thousands on both sides, before Moscow brokered a ceasefire deal that included the deployment of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers to the region for a five-year period.

Since the truce, the two sides have accused each other of breaching the peace deal.

In his statement, Kanaani once again stressed on the role of the countries in the region to help resolve disputes peacefully, while reminding the readiness of the Islamic Republic to host the 3+3 format cooperation mechanism in this regard.  

On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the breakaway region of Karabakh, saying the separatist “regime” there must be dissolved.

Baku said it had informed the command of Russian peacekeepers and leadership of Turkish-Russian monitoring center about military activities it was carrying out in Karabakh.