Azerbaijani, Iranian Presidents Discuss Future Cooperation

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian have expressed confidence that bilateral cooperation in various areas would continue to expand.

In a phone conversation on July 9, Aliyev congratulated Pezeshkian on his election as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and wished him success in his activities, President of Azerbaijan’s official website reported.

President Aliyev invited the Iranian president to visit Azerbaijan, and Pezeshkian accepted the invitation. He, in turn, invited the Azerbaijani president for an official visit to Iran.

Pezeshkian said that he would spare no effort to develop the relations between the two countries in all areas in the future.

“The sides expressed confidence that Azerbaijan-Iran relations based on common religious and cultural roots, friendship and brotherhood would continue to expand, and cooperation between the two countries across various areas develop,” the report said.

The presidents discussed issues of mutual concern and stressed the importance of implementing the agreements reached between the two countries.

Pezeshkian expressed his gratitude to Aliyev for sending a letter after he was elected Iran’s President.

In the letter to Pezeshkian on July 6, President Aliyev said: "We attach great importance to the relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran built on solid foundations such as common religious and cultural roots, friendship and brotherhood.”

The letter noted that mutually beneficial cooperation has developed dynamically between the two countries in all fields over the past decades. It underlined the cooperation in the economy, transport, energy and humanitarian fields.

The agreements on the future development of Azerbaijan-Iran relations and joint projects being implemented serve the well-being of the two countries and the sustainable development and security of the region, the letter noted.

Pezeshkian was elected in the snap presidential elections on July 5, nearly two months after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19, in which seven other officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said: “We are interested in implementing projects previously agreed upon between Azerbaijan and Iran”.

"Azerbaijan expects that after the new Iranian president takes office, relations will develop even further," Bayramov told journalists on July 8.

Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran were strained in January 2023 following an attack on the country’s embassy in Tehran. This prompted Baku to close the embassy and evacuate staff over a “terrorist act”.

On July 9, Director General of Eurasia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mojtaba Demirchi-Lou announced that "the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran is expected to reopen within the next 15 to 20 days".

He noted that the new Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan has not yet been appointed, explaining, “The process of appointing an ambassador is lengthy. The government must first be established, after which an ambassador can be designated.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada announced on May 17 that a new location for the country’s embassy in Tehran has been determined. “Collaborative efforts with the Iranian side were undertaken to relocate the embassy to a site that is safer and meets all necessary conditions,” he added.

In mid-March, Abbas Mousavi, Iran's former ambassador to Azerbaijan, noted that after attempts by both sides to clear the misconceptions, Tehran and Baku have underlined the need to “open a new chapter” in ties between the two neighbors.