Four Azerbaijanis Injured in Drone Attack as President Aliyev Plans Retaliation

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan accused Iran of ‘terrorism’ after four of his citizens were injured in a drone attack on an airport and near a school, vowing revenge. ‘Today there has been an act of terror by Iran against the territory of Azerbaijan,’ Aliyev said at a security council meeting reported by AFP on Thursday (5 March 2026). He said he had instructed the Azerbaijani military to prepare a retaliation, adding that the military must be ready to carry out any operation. ‘I have instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory actions and placed at mobilisation level one, and must be ready to undertake any operation,’ he added. Iran Denies Attacking Azerbaijan Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected claims that Iran targeted Azerbaijan. Iran says the attacks targeted US and Israeli military bases located in the country. Gharibabadi stated after earlier two Iranian drones struck the autonomous region of Nakhchivan, including the airport building. He stressed Iran did not intend to attack its neighbouring country. ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran does not target the Republic of Azerbaijan,’ Gharibabadi said in a Tasnim News Agency broadcast cited by Al Jazeera, on Thursday (5 March). ‘We do not target neighbouring countries,’ he added. He said the attack targeted military bases of its enemies active in the area and used to attack Iran, including bases of the US and Israel. The daylight attack, reported by AFP on Thursday (5 March), involved at least two drones flying from Iranian territory toward Nakhchivan, the Azerbaijani exclave. Nakhchivan borders Iran directly and is separated from the Azerbaijani mainland by Armenia.