“There is no historical evidence on a state called ‘Azerbaijan’ in the north of Araks,” Foreign high-ranking military of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mansour Haghighatpour said according to the report of Iranian news agency Azariha.org.
As the Iranian source notes, Mansour Haghighatpour, turning to the expediency of recognizing the independence of Azerbaijan by Iran after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has particularly noted: “The history provides no evidence on a country named Azerbaijan in the territory lying to the north of Araks. Azerbaijan (Atropatene) is situated in the region lying to the south of Araks with Arran and Shirvan Khanate situating in the north.”
Haghighatpour went on adding: “Certainly during the Soviet period the region was mentioned with a fake name. I think due to Iran’s caring and friendly attitude Tehran refrained from raising an issue over the name of the newly independent state that was fighting a war with Armenia.”