In such a situation, sincere condolences are extended to the families and loved ones of the deceased, and, of course, to the entire multinational people of the neighboring Islamic Republic.
However, alongside various tragedies, life continues, and so does history. Leaders come and go, but history is continuous as long as the Earth is inhabited by humans.
We will not discuss the causes of the aviation accident, which, unfortunately, could happen to any of us. Even in such a tragedy (obviously of a technogenic nature), politics played a role, albeit indirectly. A country that has been under sanctions for decades, particularly scientific and technological sanctions, inherently has unequal starting opportunities in terms of renewing and upgrading its national capabilities, including its air fleet. From the rare photograph taken aboard the helicopter with the minister shortly before the tragedy, the worn condition of the vehicle was evident, looking nothing like a “number one board.”
These are, unfortunately, the sad consequences of decades-long sanctions and political isolation.
More interesting, however, are the forecasts regarding the potential political processes following the upcoming change in the country’s leadership and how this change will affect the regional configuration. This article is not an obituary. But it would be appropriate to note some points about the political course of Iran’s recently past leadership.
If the occupation of part of the Azerbaijani-Iranian border by Armenia in 1993 occurred during the presidency of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, then Seyed Ebrahim Raisi became the first president of Iran to inherit a fully restored border with Azerbaijan along the Araz River from his predecessor. An unpleasant incident occurred during the liberation of the border valley by Azerbaijani Armed Forces in October 2020, involving Iranian military personnel who inexplicably wandered onto our sovereign territory, happened under President Hassan Rouhani. Initially, after Raisi’s victory in the next elections, there seemed to be no complications in the relations between our states. On the contrary, the liberation of Azerbaijani regions cleared the way for expanded bilateral and, most importantly, mutually beneficial cooperation.
In March 2022, a historic memorandum was even signed on opening a parallel branch to the Zangezur corridor along the southern bank of the Araz River, i.e., through Iranian territory. The long-stalled Rasht-Astara railway project, which had been frozen for inexplicable reasons, finally made progress. This project has long been discussed and still holds the potential to become an important component of the North-South international transport corridor. Additionally, discussions finally began about launching water nodes on the river, which had started during the occupation.
However, it would be incorrect to say that the relations between our countries under the late leader were completely cloudless. Complications certainly existed. It is worth recalling the warning Baku had to issue to its Iranian partners regarding the inadmissibility of uncontrolled entry of trucks from this country into the part of Azerbaijan still called the “temporary deployment zone of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” even if such entries were made with changed license plates. Behind-the-scenes rumors also emerged after the Azerbaijani side established a border-customs checkpoint on the Eyvazli-Shurnukhu road section, forcing Iranian trucks to seek detours to avoid paying tolls to the Azerbaijani treasury. Serious questions also arose regarding the appearance of so-called “builders” from the southern neighbor in the still-occupied part of Karabakh, who did not look like specialists of the declared profession and were ironically called “endocrinologists” in our country.
During Raisi’s tenure, for the first time since the Treaty of Turkmenchay defined Iran’s northern border in 1828, large-scale military exercises took place in the region, accompanied by comically menacing Bollywood-style clips. The lowest point in the relations between the two countries was marked by a series of terrorist attacks—first at our embassy in the Iranian capital, resulting in the death of a diplomat, followed by an attack on Milli Majlis deputy Fazil Mustafa, in which the role of Iranian intelligence services was evident. The opening of consulates by Iran and Armenia in Gafan and Tabriz, cities of significant importance in the history of the Azerbaijani people, did not add any positive hues to the bilateral relations.
All these developments—both positive and negative—occurred during the tenure of the late Ebrahim Raisi. Under him, a certain warming in bilateral relations began, leading to an agreement to construct a new building for the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and culminating in a historic meeting of the two presidents on the Araz River at the inauguration of water nodes.
Now, the people of Iran, along with its neighbors, stand before the opening of a new chapter in the history of both the country and the entire region. We can only hope that voters will make a choice that allows the positive dynamics observed in bilateral relations in recent months to continue and never be interrupted. We have one common region, shared by all. There is no other. The 3+3 format has a future. If realized, our region will become a place of peace, prosperity, and cooperation.
This chance should not be missed.
Aziza Lalaeva
Translated from minval.az
