Iran denies drone attacks on Azerbaijan, Turkey and Cyprus

Iran denied on Monday that its armed forces launched drones or missiles toward Azerbaijan, Turkey or Cyprus, as regional tensions spill beyond its borders.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran’s defense actions “should in no way be interpreted as hostility toward any of the countries in the region,” adding that the armed forces’ general staff had “explicitly and officially announced that such launches were not carried out from inside Iran or by our military forces.”

His remarks follow accusations by Azerbaijan that four drones crossed into its Nakhchivan exclave, striking the airport terminal and exploding near a school, injuring civilians. President Ilham Aliyev called the incident an “act of terror,” demanded an explanation and apology from Tehran, and ordered the withdrawal of Azerbaijani diplomatic staff from Iran.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that Tehran launched drones toward Nakhchivan and told his Azerbaijani counterpart that Iran “denies any drone launch toward that republic,” according to state media. He said Iran’s armed forces were investigating the reported explosions and accused Israel of seeking to disrupt relations between Muslim countries to harm Iran’s ties with its neighbors.

Turkey has said NATO air defenses intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile that entered Turkish airspace last week. Ankara protested to Tehran and is considering deploying F-16 fighter jets to Northern Cyprus as a precautionary security measure.

Cyprus has also reported a drone strike on a British base on the island, which it said was likely launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah rather than directly from Iran.