The Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation agreements, signed in the course of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Baku, run counter to not only Armenian but also Iranian interests, according to Vardan Voskanyan, an Armenian expert in Iranian studies.
Speaking to Tert.am, Voskanyan said he expects very tough reactions by the Islamic Republic on the level of both the clergy and the political elite, as well as the society at large .
“Given the Iranian policy actions, however, those steps will not be planned for the short-term perspective; they will have far-reaching objectives,” he noted.
As part of his working trip to Azerbaijan, Netanyahu met with President Ilham Aliyev to a range of cooperation documents addressing, among other things, the agricultural sector and procedures for evading double property tax.
Voskanyan noted that Iranian politicians later issued threats to the Azerbaijani leadership, urging it to revise its regional cooperation perspectives with Israel. “I think it may be treated as a considerably hazardous move by Azerbaijan, as the country pins great hopes on Iran in an attempt to achieve Armenia’s isolation through imitated cooperation. Iran now sees that any long-term cooperation with Azerbaijan is doomed to failure,” he added.
According to the expert, the Israeli and Azerbaijani top officials must have considered also an anti-Iranian plan of actions at the recent meeting. “One doesn’t have to be gifted with a special wisdom to realize that the Israeli prime minister’s Baku visit agenda included included also an anti-Iranian plan of actions. No public statement will be issued with respect to those actions, but the Iranians are quite skilled and experienced enough to need additional explanations as to possible hazards,” he added.
Voskanyan noted that the two countries maintain close relations in almost all areas, including military security. In his words, Azerbaijan used Israeli drones in Nagorno-Karabakh during the four-day fighting in April. “The Israeli armament is used not only against Armenia but also Iran. So the hazard is an equal concern for both us and the Iranians,” he added.
The expert stressed the importance of closer Armenian-Iranian relations against the backdrop of the recent development.s “Possibilities of cooperation need to be revised with respect to areas that might not have been considered before. I think it has to be included into both countries agenda as the threats stemming from Azerbaijan are pose an equal hazard to Iran and Armenia,” he added.