Azernews.Az

TEHRAN – Iran will continue supporting Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh, the country’s Vice President Mohammad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini said in Tehran on Sunday.

"We have always supported Azerbaijan and condemned the occupation of Nagorno Karabakh by Armenia," Mir-Tajeddini said addressing the Iran-Azerbaijan conference "Azerbaijan: past experiences and upcoming prospects."

Mir-Tajeddini said the Caucasus region and, in particular, Azerbaijan, are crucial for Iran and the whole world. The region has an important geopolitical location, is flush with energy resources and has access to the sea.

Regarding Iranian-Azerbaijani relations, the vice president said that Iran has such religious similarities with no other Muslim country, as 95 percent of Azerbaijan's population are Muslims, most of them Shiites.

According to Mir-Tajeddini, energy, cargo transport, food industry and new technologies as well as joint combat against terror and drug trafficking are the key areas for cooperation between the two countries.

However, Mir-Tajeddini pointed to the outstanding issues in bilateral relations, including the status of the Caspian Sea, as well as some energy policy issues and military agreements.

Mir-Tajeddini said Iran deems as important further integration of Islamic countries, and lifting visa regulations among them is playing an important role in this integration. Iran has already cancelled its visa regime with Azerbaijan, which is the first step on this path, he said.