Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani parliament speaker has condemned Iran’s strongly worded statement that claimed Azerbaijan allows its territory to be used for anti-Iranian terror activity, but said it was important to maintain close ties with the neighboring country.

"Iran is Azerbaijan’s neighbor, and we have to keep our level [of ties] and neighborly relations," Ogtay Asadov said in parliament Tuesday.

Asadov was commenting on Tehran’s recent protest note in which it claimed Azerbaijan allows Israeli secret service Mossad to carry out anti-Iranian activity on its soil. The document, submitted to Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran Javanshir Akhundov, who was summoned to Iran’s foreign ministry Sunday, said Azerbaijan allegedly turned a blind eye to free travel of terrorists implicated in the recent killing of Iranian nuclear scientists to and out of the country, and urged Baku to stop the alleged anti-Iranian activities. The Iranian government also believes that Azerbaijani media are pursuing an anti-Iranian campaign.

Asadov said Iran "has made some mistakes" in diplomacy, noting that anti-Azerbaijani statements have been made in the country’s parliament.

"We have to do everything possible to make sure these issues [tension] do not deepen much. The Azerbaijani president has repeatedly stated that no foreign state can use Azerbaijan’s territory against the neighboring country."

Independent MP Ganira Pashayeva told the parliamentary session that even in the hardest times Azerbaijan has not sensed Iranian support.

"Iran has always supported Armenia [Azerbaijan’s long-time foe with which it faces a long-standing conflict]," she said. "If Iran had shut its border with Armenia on time, perhaps, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict would have long been settled.

"They have established a TV channel called Seher in Iran, and from morning till night it airs provocative anti-Azerbaijan broadcasts, trying to set citizens against their government," Pashayeva said.

Pashayeva is confident that Seher is supported by the Iranian authorities. "We call on Iranian officials to open up their eyes and look, and not to turn Azerbaijan, a normal neighbor, into an enemy," she added.

Zahid Oruj, a lawmaker from pro-government Ana Vatan (Motherland) party, said that so far Azerbaijan has not been represented in anti-Iranian political blocs, but Tehran’s conduct is prompting the country to do so.