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Iranian president to visit Azerbaijan in sign of warming ties

AFP
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to pay a rare visit to Azerbaijan next week, state media reported on Wednesday, in the latest sign of warming relations between the neighbouring countries.

Pezeshkian will be travelling to Baku on Monday “at the invitation” of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, state television reported.

On Wednesday, Pezeshkian expressed hopes for “rapid and serious improvement” in relations and cooperation between the two countries as part of a broader effort to “mend ties”, according to the presidency.

Relations between the two countries have been strained for years, largely due to Baku´s close ties with Iran´s arch-enemy Israel and a January 2023 attack on Azerbaijan´s embassy in Tehran. Tehran has repeatedly expressed concern that Azerbaijani territory could be used for a possible attack on Iran by Israel, a major arms supplier to Baku.