US-Iran War Escalates Beyond Middle East: Iranian Drones Strike Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Airport

Two Iranian drones struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave on Thursday, hitting a civilian airport terminal and landing near a school in what Azerbaijan called a violation of international law. Two civilians were injured. No deaths have been reported.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the unmanned aerial vehicles were launched from Iranian territory and hit the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic around noon on 5 March. One drone crashed into the passenger terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport, causing structural damage. A second came down near a school building in the village of Shekarabad, according to Euronews.

Video footage showed a drone approaching the airport before a large explosion sent black smoke above the terminal. Clips from inside the building showed ceiling damage and people running from the scene.

Baku Summons Iran's Ambassador Over Nakhchivan Drone Strike

Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Damirchilou, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where officials delivered a formal protest note, AzerNews reported.

'We strongly condemn these drone attacks carried out from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and the injury of two civilians,' the Foreign Ministry said. It demanded a 'clear explanation' from Tehran and said Azerbaijan 'reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures.'

Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry issued a separate statement confirming that Iranian armed forces had launched UAV attacks on the airport and other civilian sites. 'These attacks will not go unanswered,' it said, adding that response measures to protect Azerbaijan's sovereignty were being prepared, TRT World reported. The technical specifications of the drones remain under investigation.

Tehran Denies Targeting Azerbaijan as Conflict Enters Sixth Day

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ minutes after the strike that he had only just heard of the incident and needed to investigate. Targeting neighbouring countries was not Iran's policy, he said, 'unless the military bases of our adversaries, namely the Zionist regime and the United States of America, are active there,' OC Media disclosed.

Azerbaijan has denied that its territory has been used to stage attacks on Iran. Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Aragchi earlier this week that it was 'impossible for any country to use the territory of Azerbaijan against neighbouring and friendly Iran.'

First South Caucasus Nation Hit Since US-Iran War Began

The strikes are the first to hit any South Caucasus nation since the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury by Washington and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel, began on 28 February. The conflict is now in its sixth day.

Nakhchivan sits less than 10 kilometres from the Iranian border. The exclave, home to roughly 460,000 people, has no direct land connection to mainland Azerbaijan and is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia. Azerbaijani media identified the drones as Iranian-made Arash-2 UAVs with a reported range of 2,000 kilometres and a 150-kilogram warhead, AzerNews said. Baku has not officially confirmed this.

Azerbaijan and Iran share a border and a majority Shia Muslim population. Millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis live inside Iran. Azerbaijan also maintains military ties with Israel, including purchases of Israeli weapons systems. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of allowing hostile forces to use its territory, but Azerbaijan has denied this.

The Nakhchivan strike came on the same day Iran launched another wave of missiles at Israel and reportedly targeted a US oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. Earlier this week, NATO forces intercepted a missile fired from Iran heading towards Turkey, Azerbaijan's closest ally. Tehran denied targeting Turkish territory, saying the missile was aimed at Cyprus.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences to Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the conflict's opening strikes. Azerbaijan has also facilitated the evacuation of more than 1,100 foreign nationals fleeing the war in Iran over the past week, reports said.