Potential for Enhanced Defense Ties With Baku

  Top authorities from Iran and Azerbaijan are keen on expanding bilateral defense cooperation, Defense Minister Amir Hatami said.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Thursday upon arrival from a two-day trip to Baku, Hatami said, “The ambitious views of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister [Artur Rasizade] about Tehran-Baku ties, double the burden of responsibility on the two countries’ defense ministries to lay the basis for a level of relations that Iran and Azerbaijan deserve,” said Hatami, as cited by IRNA. “As I said during the talks with my Azeri counterpart [Zakir Hasanov], these views and the expectations of the Leader of Islamic Revolution and President Hassan Rouhani make us duty-bound to fast-track the development of defense and military relations between the two countries,” Hatami added. During his visit, Hatami held meetings with top Azeri officials, including Aliyev, who expressed confidence that the Iranian defense chief’s visit would create a good opportunity to discuss the current state and prospects of defense cooperation between Tehran and Baku.