Amid the recent tension between Tehran and Baku, pro-Azerbaijani graffiti have been spotted in the streets across Iran’s northwestern Tabriz city.
The graffiti shared in social media, reads – “South Azerbaijan is not Iran”.
The “South Azerbaijan” that has been referred to in the graffiti implies Iran’s Azerbaijani-populated northern region that contains cities such as Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmiya, among others.
The diplomatic tension between Baku and Tehran escalated after last year’s war with Armenia that saw Azerbaijan regain control over most of its previously occupied territories. Azerbaijan also regained full control of its border with Iran that has a length of 700 km (430 miles). Today, Azerbaijan controls the slices of land through which the main Iranian-Armenian road passes. Iranian used to supply Armenia though trucks sent to Armenia and Azerbaijan’s Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh via this road. Azerbaijan in September detained two Iranian truck drivers who were transporting aid to Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh.
The tension between the two neighbors culminated with Iran starting war games on the border on October 1. Against the background of the war games, Iran accused Azerbaijan of overseeing Israel’s presence in the region, a claim that was personally denied by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Iran’s Azerbaijani Turks, also known as Iranian Azerbaijanis (Azeris), are the largest minority group in Iran making up around 30 percent of its population of roughly 84 million people. They have been struggling to protect their cultural rights and preserve their national identity despite Tehran’s attempts to stifle dissent and jail their activists. Of special importance for Azerbaijani Turks is the right to access education in their mother tongue.
