Kamal Kharrazi, advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader and former foreign minister, has died at the age of 81 from injuries he sustained.
Modern.az reports that Azerbaijan's former foreign minister, Tofig Zulfugarov, shared a post about this on his personal Facebook account.
He stated that despite receiving a Western education, the deceased Iranian official was one of the country's most reactionary political figures:
“Although this person received a Western education, he was one of the most reactionary figures and foreign policy ideologues of the former regime. The basis of his worldview was not Islamic solidarity, but the Persian neo-imperial ideology formed during the Shah's era.”
The former minister noted that this approach manifested itself in an exploitative policy against the countries of the region:
“The proponents of this ideology saw the 'export' of the Iranian revolution as a means of interfering with the sovereignty of neighboring states. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and partly Bahrain are examples of this. The same scenario was envisioned for Azerbaijan.”
Tofig Zulfugarov emphasized that despite the principles agreed upon with official Baku at that time, some forces within Iran acted against the strengthening of Azerbaijan's statehood:
“Although Azerbaijan's position was formally accepted, individuals like Kharrazi took possible steps to hinder the strengthening of statehood in our country. This policy was particularly evident after Heydar Aliyev's return to power.”
He added that this policy also manifested itself on international platforms and was openly directed against Azerbaijan.
According to the former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the old regime ultimately became a victim of its own domestic and foreign policy:
“This policy ultimately proved destructive for those who created it. Today, a new generation has the opportunity to build real neighborhood relations. Let's see if lessons will be learned from previous mistakes.”
