Iran-Azerbaijan ties still off track despite diplomatic gestures
Azerbaijan's energy minister visited Tehran for preparations to reopen his country's embassy, but such hot-button issues as the Nakhchivan corridor and Azerbaijan's affinity with Israel appeared as stumbling blocks on the path to effective normalization.
TEHRAN — Azerbaijan's energy minister, Parviz Shahbazov, was in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Friday, as the two neighbors demonstrated willingness to rebuild their long-strained relations.
According to Iranian media reporting, the Azerbaijani minister's agenda covered multiple topics, the first of which was preparation to reopen his country's embassy in Tehran.
Baku decided to close down its Iran mission in January 2023 in response to an attack inside the embassy building, which left a security team member dead. Iran has said the assailant is currently on trial but has dismissed any terror-related motives, saying the killing was driven by a personal dispute.
Shahbazov appeared also to be making arrangements ahead of a meeting next week between Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. The pair are expected to inaugurate a series of joint hydroelectric projects in the border area of Khodafarin on the Aras River.
