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Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

General: Mortar shells ‘unintentionally’ fired on Iran’s territory from Armenia

Iran's Commander of Border Guards Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei visited the border areas in northwestern Iran’s province and said that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia was safe

© Vahram Baghdasaryan, PHOTOLURE via AP

Iran's nuclear program

TEHRAN, April 6. /TASS/. Mortar shells that exploded on Sunday on Iran’s territory close to the border with the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region had been fired from Armenia’s territory, Iran's Commander of Border Guards Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei said.

"During conflicts between Baku and Yerevan in the past few days, several mortar shells from Armenia were 'unintentionally' fallen in Iran's zero border point," the official was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying. Iran has called on Armenian border guards not to repeat such actions.

Rezaei visited the border areas in northwestern Iran’s province and said that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia was safe. He also met with Azerbaijan’s deputy chief of the State Border Service, Ilham Mehdiyev, and reviewed joint border issues.

The Fars news agency reported on April 3 citing local officials that three mortar shells fired during clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh hit a village in Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. No casualties or injuries were reported.

The situation along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2 when fierce clashes began. The parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries announced cessation of combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh from 11:00 a.m. (0800GMT) Moscow time on April 5.

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Escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

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Armenia Iran Nagorno-Karabakh

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