Azerbaijan says it prevented ‘provocations, intelligence gathering’ by Iran’s IRGC

ISTANBUL

Azerbaijan said it prevented “provocations and intelligence gathering” by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), media reports said Friday.

Citing the country’s State Security Service, Azerbaijan’s state TV channel AzTV reported that it prevented the plots “as a result of complex counterintelligence measures.”

The report said that among the targets of the plots, which sought to “create panic among the public” and damage Azerbaijan's international reputation, was the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline, among other targets.

“Three explosive devices were placed on the territory of the country. These explosives were neutralized and prevented from being transferred to other persons,” the report added.

Iranian authorities have not yet commented on the report, which comes as Baku said Thursday that its Nakhchivan exclave was hit by drones launched from Iranian territory, injuring four people and causing damage to the region’s international airport.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of committing a "terrorist act" and said his country must be given an explanation by Iranian officials about the incident, an apology must be made, and those who committed the act must be held criminally liable.

Iran denied that any projectiles were launched toward the country amid a call between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on Thursday, and that its armed forces were conducting an investigation.