Azerbaijan threatens to respond after Iranian drones hit airport and near school

Pair of drones cross border from Iran into exclave of Nakhichevan, wounding two people; Baku summons Iranian envoy, warns it has right ‘to take appropriate retaliatory measures’

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijan on Thursday warned it could retaliate against Tehran after Iran fired two drones at its northern neighbor, wounding two people.

Azerbaijan  summoned the Iranian envoy after the strikes hit an airport and near a school.

Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its retaliatory attacks have spread erratically to include regional countries and beyond amid an intense joint US-Israeli air campaign that began over the weekend.

The attacks around midday involved at least two drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Iran and is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia, said a foreign ministry statement.

“One drone fell on the terminal building of Nakhichevan Airport, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad,” the ministry said, damaging the airport and wounding two civilians.

A source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters a fire had started as a result of the incident.

Video footage shared by the source showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building.

The ministry said it had summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to express “strong protest” over the attack, which “contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region.

“Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures,” it added.

“We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future,” the ministry said.

Iran has long expressed concern that Israel — a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier — could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks.

Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets, saying Iran was taking steps to weaponize its nuclear research program.

Israel and the US say their current campaign is aimed at ensuring Iran can never produce a nuclear weapon, as well as destroying Iran’s long-range missile program. Israel has also urged Iranians to overthrow the country’s regime, a development the US has also indicated it would like to see.

Iran has responded to the campaign by firing ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and Middle East countries that host US bases. Two drones also targeted a British base in Cyprus, and on Wednesday, Turkey said an Iranian missile was intercepted as it entered its airspace.

In February 2012, Azerbaijan agreed on a $1.4 billion deal for Israeli drones and military technology. Later that year, Iran complained that Israeli-built drones were patrolling the border with Azerbaijan.

Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran’s 83 million citizens.