Iran Boosts Military on Border as Nagorno-Karabakh Truce Falters
Iran Boosts Military on Border as Nagorno-Karabakh Truce Falters
(Bloomberg) --
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reinforced security on the country’s frontier with Azerbaijan, whose conflict with Armenia has defied truce efforts.
Tanks, ground troops and military equipment have been deployed in the cities of Khoda Afarin and Jolfa, which are on the Azerbaijan border and also near Iran’s boundary with Armenia, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Sunday, quoting IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour.
Iran’s regular ground forces also announced the start of new military drills in the northwest, the Tasnim news agency reported, without giving details on the location.
A longstanding dispute over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted into fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia last month and at least 80 civilians have so far been killed. Iran has warned its neighbors to contain the conflict after several stray rockets landed in Iranian border towns.
Iran’s northwestern frontier traverses Iraq, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan and is home to several ethnic minority populations -- mostly Azeris, Iran’s largest minority, and Kurds.
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