Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, said Iran committed an act of terror when a drone struck an Azerbaijani airport on Thursday. Iran denies responsibility for the attack. File Photo by Nathan Howard/UPI | License Photo
March 5 (UPI) — Drones struck a passenger terminal at Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan International Airport on Thursday, while Iran denies involvement in the attacks.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its president are blaming Tehran for the attacks, which injured at least two people at the airport terminal. A second drone fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad in the district of Nakchivan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the incident an “act of terror.”
“Today, Iran committed an act of terror against the territory of Azerbaijan, against the state of Azerbaijan,” he said during a meeting with the Azerbaijani Security Council. “The Iranian state fired unmanned aerial vehicles on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.”
Azerbaijan neighbors Iran to the northwest. The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is part of the country but is not geographically connected to it, separated by the southern region of Armenia.
“Iranian officials must provide an explanation to the Azerbaijani side, an apology must be offered and those who committed this terrorist act must be held criminally liable,” Aliyev added.
Nakhchivan was a key part of a peace deal signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by the United States. The deal granted the United States the right to develop a trade route between Azerbaijan and its territory in Nakhchivan, passing through southern Armenia.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Kazem Gharibabadi denied that Iran targeted Azerbaijan.
“We do not target our neighboring countries,” Gharibabadi told Iran’s state news agency. “Iran’s policy is only to strike the military bases of its enemies.”
Iran has launched counterattacks against the United States and Israel following initial strikes by the two countries’ militaries. The scope of attacks have continued to widen across the Middle East in recent days.
On Wednesday, NATO air defense units posted in the Mediterranean Sea downed an Iranian missile headed toward Turkey’s airspace. Turkey neighbors Nakhchivan and Armenia to the west.
Israel has meanwhile widened its targets to include Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
An Iranian flag stands amid the destruction in Enghelab Square following the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel on Tehran, Iran, on March 4, 2026. Photo by Nahal Farzaneh/UPI | License Photo
