Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, targeting civilian infrastructure including the Nakhchivan International Airport terminal and a school, during a Security Council meeting in Baku on March 5.

Aliyev said Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) opened fire on the Azerbaijani exclave, describing the incident as a “terrorist act” against the Azerbaijani state. According to the president, several civilian sites were targeted, including the airport terminal building and educational facilities.

“The Azerbaijani state resolutely condemns this heinous act of terror,” Aliyev said at the meeting, adding that Iran must provide an explanation, issue an apology, and bring those responsible to criminal liability.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s armed forces had been instructed to prepare retaliatory measures. He also said the Ministry of Defence, the State Border Service and other special units had been placed on level-one mobilisation status and ordered to be ready to conduct operations if necessary.

The Azerbaijani leader stated that the Iranian ambassador in Baku had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that a formal note of protest would be delivered. Additional diplomatic and border-related measures were also being prepared, he said.

Aliyev linked the alleged strike to what he described as previous hostile actions by Tehran, including the January 2023 attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran in which one Azerbaijani citizen was killed and another injured. Azerbaijani authorities at the time accused Iranian security structures of involvement in the assault.

Following that incident, Azerbaijan evacuated its embassy staff and suspended diplomatic activity in Iran. Aliyev said the perpetrator of the embassy attack was later executed by Iran after pressure from Baku.

Aliyev also rejected previous Iranian accusations that Azerbaijani territory had been used for operations against Iran. He said Azerbaijan had repeatedly assured Tehran that its territory would not be used against neighbouring states and reiterated that Baku had no intention of conducting operations against Iran.

The president added that Azerbaijan had recently assisted Iran in logistical matters, including agreeing to help evacuate Iranian diplomatic staff from Lebanon after Tehran requested assistance from Baku earlier on March 5.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence earlier released a statement on the reported incident. Authorities said further information would be provided as events develop.