page_title: Azerbaijan–Iran relations
section_title: Membership of OIC, relations with Israel and alienation of Iran
hierarchical_section_title: Azerbaijan–Iran relations / Relations from 1991 up to including 2012 / Membership of OIC, relations with Israel and alienation of Iran
caption_attribution_description: English: Stamp of Azerbaijan
context_page_description: Azerbaijan–Iran relations are foreign relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran has an embassy in Baku and a consulate-general in Nakhchivan City. Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tehran and a consulate-general in Tabriz. Official diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Iran were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Iran and Azerbaijan share, to a large extent, the same history, religion, ethnicity, and culture.
  The territory of what is now called the Republic of Azerbaijan was only separated from Iran in the first half of the 19th century, through the Russo-Persian Wars. In the area to the North of the river Aras, the territory of the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia. Iran and Azerbaijan are furthermore the only official Shia Muslim nations in the world where the vast majority of the people are Shia Muslims.
context_section_description: Iran was one of the first countries to establish full diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan. Following the declaration of the Parliament of Azerbaijan to restore independence of Azerbaijan Republic on October 18, 1991 and in early December 1991, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati visited Baku, where he signed a number of agreements on political, economic, and cultural cooperation and pledged to support Azerbaijan's membership in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation). Within the few days after the visit, Iran recognized Azerbaijan on January 4, 1992, upgraded its consulate in Baku to establish full diplomatic relations.
  Tehran was quick to recognize Azerbaijan as an independent state and set out to create amicable relations with a country similar to its own. Iran saw Azerbaijan as fertile ground for spreading its Islamic Revolution further. Azerbaijan was skeptical of Iran's theocratic government and looked instead to Turkey as a strategic partner. “Iran’s initial euphoria at the prospect of a new Shia state quickly turned into dread, as Baku expressed irredentist sentiments and promoted the idea of a ‘Greater Azerbaijan,’ which would unite Azerbaijan (the country) and Azerbaijan (the region in northwest Iran). Fearing Baku's intentions to fuel secessionism inside its borders, Iran provided vital backing to Armenia in its war against Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which dragged on from 1988 to 1994 and ended in an inconclusive cease-fire.”  Iran’s siding with Armenia during the Nagorno-Karabakh War has not been forgotten in Azerbaijan, and Tehran’s support of Armenia—especially in light of Azerbaijan’s recent growth in power projection—has not abated.
  Azerbaijan’s power is growing primarily because of the influx of oil and gas revenues emanating from the Caspian Sea. Recognizing this, Iran has sought to reengage its northern neighbor and nudge Baku to reconsider its foreign relations—principally its close ties with Israel—because nowhere in the region does Iran see a more unambiguous Israeli footprint than it does in Azerbaijan. “Israel and Azerbaijan share the common goal of containing Iranian influence. In this joint front, Azerbaijan provides proximity to Iran—with much ion about Azerbaijani soil being used as a staging ground for Israeli military operations—while Israel possesses superior weapons technologies and other resources.”  In February 2012, Azerbaijan signed a $1.6 billion defense deal with Israel that included air defense systems, intelligence hardware, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Azerbaijan is aware that its overtures and agreements with Israel anger Iran, but its response is that Iran's strong ties with Armenia anger Azerbaijan. “When Tehran has appealed to Azerbaijan’s Islamic identity, the Azerbaijanis quickly point out that Tehran’s relations with Armenia have been trouble-free compared with its ties with its Muslim neighbors."
caption: Stamp of Azerbaijan, 1992
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