After weeks of tension that started with Iranian truck driver’s illegal entry into Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh, Tehran has urged its citizens not to enter the breakway region through Armenia.
The Urban Development Ministry of Iran this week issued a statement urging its citizens to respect Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
“It is strongly recommended that to respect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iranian drivers and citizens do not enter Lachin and the Nagorno-Karabakh region through the Republic of Armenia in order not to face the consequences. International transport companies should also avoid signing any trade agreements with the Nagorno-Karabakh region, issuing transportation documents, sending and unloading cargo to that region,” the statement reads.
The statement follows Azerbaijan’s decision to release two Iranian truck drivers who were detained September 15.
The tension between the two countries intensified after Iran’s holding war games on the Azerbaijani border on October 1. The tension has been around Azerbaijan’s recent restriction of Iranian truck drivers’ entry into Armenian-controlled parts of Nagorno-Karabakh where Iran sends fuel. Azerbaijan detained two Iranian truck drivers in September.
