Tensions have increased recently between Tehran and Baku over three issues: a joint military drill that Azerbaijani troops conducted alongside their Turkish and Pakistani counterparts some 500 kilometers from the Iranian border; Azerbaijani restrictions on Iranian truck drivers' access to Armenia and the detention of two drivers; and Azerbaijani ties to Iran’s archenemy Israel.On October 1, Tehran added to those tensions by launching its own military drills near its northwestern border, days after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) deployed military equipment to the region.The move was met with expressions of concern from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who earlier this week said he was surprised by the planned drill."Every country can carry out any military drill on its own territory. It’s their sovereign right. But why now, and why on our border?” Aliyev said. He noted that it was the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union 20 years ago that Iran had planned such a show of force so close to its border.
Iran and Azerbaijan have enjoyed good relations in the past, but Tehran has increasingly expressed concern about alleged Israeli influence there.Speaking on September 24, Ameli was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying the drills sent a message to Israel.“Israel has come to Azerbaijan to plot against Iran," Ameli said, without offering details.
Iran named the exercises "Conquerors of Khaybar" - after Mohammed's battle where he defeated the Jews of Khaybar, made an agreement where they would pay half their crops to him, and despite the agreement the Jews were expelled altogether some 14 years later.
Given that Iranian officials have explicitly tied the location of the exercises with Azerbaijan's ties to Israel, naming the exercises "Conquerors of Khaybar" prove beyond any doubt that Iran's hate of Israel is based on hatred of Jews.
