On Monday, November 25, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Azerbaijani special forces began large-scale joint military exercises in Iran’s northwestern border region. The event, called “Joint Exercise Aras,” takes place in Iran and will last four days. It is dedicated to issues of counterterrorism and border protection in difficult mountainous terrain. The name of the exercise is associated with the Aras River, which flows along the border between the two countries.
The opening ceremony took place in the city of Aslanduz, located in the Iranian province of Ardabil. On November 24, the Azerbaijani army was solemnly welcomed at the Bilekh-Savar border crossing. According to the IRGC, these maneuvers aim to strengthen regional security cooperation and demonstrate a new level of interaction between the two neighboring states.
Despite years of tense relations caused by Iran’s support for Azerbaijan’s rival Armenia, as well as Baku’s close ties with Israel, the exercise underlines the parties’ desire to improve bilateral dialogue in the military-strategic sphere.
Previously, Kursor reported that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, issued new threats against Israel, the United States and its Western allies. He said that no military force in the world, including the United States, European states and Israel, could resist the “united army of the Islamic world, armed with “faith, jihad and the willingness to sacrifice in the name of Allah.” According to him, countries such as Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Iran itself are on “the front line of the fight against the Zionist entity” and its allies.
