Baku denies report drone launched from Azerbaijan’s territory
Tehran Times Political Desk
On Line: 30 August 2014 09:15
In Print: Sunday 31 August 2014
TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy chief of staff has said an Israeli drone shot
down near the Natanz nuclear facility flew in from a northern country
that once was part of the Soviet Union, however he did not specify the
country when he made the claim.
General Masoud Jazayeri said the country must make “compensatory
actions” or else be publicly named.
He also said Iran’s response will not be limited to shooting down the
drone. “We will respond to the enemy in the occupied lands,” he added
without elaborating, Fars news agency reported.
There are three former Soviet republics north of Iran: Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Iran in the past had criticized
Azerbaijan for its close ties with Israel.
However, in Baku officials have denied a report alleging that the
drone was launched from Azerbaijan’s territory.
Ali Hasanov, an official in Azerbaijan’s presidential administration,
described the report as a “provocation by outside circles.”
On Sunday, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had
shot down the Israeli drone near the country’s uranium enrichment
facility in Natanz, some 240 kilometers south of the capital Tehran.
Israeli officials have not commented on the incident.
NCH/PA
From: A. Papazian