Tehran summons Turkish ambassador over Erdogan’s remarks on Azerbaijan

Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Friday that the ministry’s director general for Eurasian affairs voiced the Islamic Republic’s “strong protest” and called for an “immediate explanation” from the government in Ankara.

The director general told the ambassador that the “era of territorial claims and warmongering and expansionist empires has long ended,” Khatibzadeh said.

“The Turkish ambassador was also reminded that the Islamic Republic would never allow anyone to interfere in its territorial integrity… and will never compromise on its national security.”

During his visit to Baku on Thursday, Erdogan attended a military parade that saluted Azerbaijan's recent victory in the bloody Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the ceremony, which was also attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Turkish president recited a poem which bemoans the separation of Azerbaijan under the Tukmenchay Treaty during the Russo-Persian War (1826–28), but Erdogan referred to it in the context of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories of Lachin and Karabakh.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Turkish leader had misunderstood the piece.

The Iranian foreign minister said “no one can talk about our beloved Azerbaijan.”

Last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei referred to the conflict over Karabakh as “a bitter incident and a threat to the security of the region.”

“This military conflict must end as soon as possible. Of course, all the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia must be liberated and returned to Azerbaijan,” while the security of Armenians must be preserved and international borders must be respected by the warring sides, the Leader said.
Azerbaijan later expressed gratitude to the Leader for his stance.