On March 5, an attack with 4 drones was carried out by Iran on Nakhchivan. During the attack, the drones fell near Nakhchivan International Airport and a school in Shakarabad village, Babek district. One drone was neutralized by units of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. As a result, 4 people sustained injuries of varying degrees.
A meeting of the Security Council was held under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev regarding the incident.
Against the backdrop of these events, relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have once again escalated. The tension in relations may also affect the cultural sphere.
Modern.az spoke with the chairpersons of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union, Writers' Union, and Artists' Union regarding the topic.
Firangiz Alizade, Chairperson of the Composers' Union, stated that the Azerbaijani President's visit to the Iranian embassy to offer condolences one day before the incident is commendable, but the opposing side's unpleasant action the following day is regrettable:
“Naturally, like all Azerbaijani people, I am very concerned. It is very difficult to believe. 35 million Azerbaijanis live in Iran. Seeing an attack from a neighboring country infuriates us. Everything must be investigated, and the right solution must be found.
I have not been to Iran until now, but we have had many students from Iran.
Among the students, the youth's attitude towards Azerbaijan has been very positive. Even several young Iranians participate in our composition classes at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory. I always keep in touch with them, invite them to the Composers' Union, and they come. Two of them are even members of the Union. Unfortunately, they later moved to the USA, but despite this, our connections remain, and we communicate with them.”
F. Alizade stated that Iranian composers have always had a good attitude towards Azerbaijan:
“We have repeatedly invited ensembles from Iran to the Silk Road Festival, and they performed very well. Relations were excellent. I saw that they were eager to come to Azerbaijan and communicate with us.”
“We have always involved Iranians in our classes, and invited them when holding open lessons. The Iranian people have always felt that Azerbaijan has a very good attitude towards them. Such steps have been taken to disrupt these relations. I could not sleep until morning. But a way will be found, and the Azerbaijani people will always protect their unity,” he concluded.
Farhad Khalilov, Chairperson of the Artists' Union, noted that they frequently met with their Iranian colleagues in Baku:
“Our relations with Iran have been very good. They participated in the "Caspian Biennale" in Baku. Our artists also participated in their biennale. Our connections naturally existed. However, today's processes have confused all of us.”
“All attention is on Ilham Aliyev today, and we believe that he will emerge from this situation with dignity. It must be confirmed by whom the drone attacks were carried out. It is not clear who is in power in Iran today. However, throughout history, Iran's attitude towards Azerbaijan has not been unambiguous. This issue must be seriously investigated,” Farhad Khalilov noted.
He noted that there are no Iranian members in the Artists' Union:
“However, 20 years ago, an Iranian held an exhibition in Baku, painted a portrait of Heydar Aliyev, and later presented it to the Great Leader. He is currently working in Baku. Later, several other Iranian artists also came to Azerbaijan, but they had no inclination to become members of our Union.”
Anar Rzayev, Chairperson of the Writers' Union, stated that there are Iranian citizens among the honorary members of the AWU (Azerbaijan Writers' Union):
“Iran's attack on Azerbaijan is treacherous. We want to establish good relations with them, but they resort to serious provocations against us. Whoever did this must be punished and held accountable. Our relations with Iranian writers, however, remain normal.”
