Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drill in Nagorno-Karabakh

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Azerbaijani special forces began a joint military exercise in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday in a rare display of bilateral military cooperation in the South Caucasus region.

The Aras or Araz-2025 drill, named after the border river Aras, is being held in areas reclaimed from Armenia by Azerbaijan during its 2020 military operation and will continue through May 21, according to officials from both countries.

Iran’s delegation, including senior commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces, crossed into Azerbaijan via the Bileh Savar border in Iran’s Ardabil province.

Brigadier General Vali Madani, IRGC’s deputy ground forces operations commander and the joint drill’s lead officer, said the exercise aims to bolster border security and enhance coordination in response to potential regional threats.

The drill comes amid ongoing peace efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia following decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Iran, which shares borders with both countries, has voiced support for a permanent peace agreement.

Iranian officials say such cooperation contributes to regional stability. "This exercise is a significant step toward strengthening mutual trust and security along shared borders," Madani said.

A previous joint exercise between Iranian and Azerbaijani special forces took place in December 2023 in Iran’s Ardabil province.

Tehran has expressed support for the peace deal framework agreed in March between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which includes Armenia’s recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.

Iran has also positioned itself as a mediator and supporter of post-conflict reconstruction and regional development.

However, the relationship between the two sides has undergone friction in recent years, including Tehran's anger at Baku's opening an embassy in Tel Aviv two years ago, and more recently, regarding the two nations' growing economic and military ties.

Earlier this year, Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned Azerbaijan about its growing ties with Israel.

“Countries should take their neighbors’ sensitivities into consideration,” Kharrazi told Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan for foreign policy affairs, in a January meeting in Tehran.

Only in December, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had condemned comments by Hassan Ameli, the Friday Prayer leader of Ardabil, who accused Baku of collaborating with Israel.