BAKU, March 5. /TASS/. All units of Azerbaijan's Armed Forces are at the highest level of combat readiness, President Ilham Aliyev said at the country’s Security Council meeting on attacks in Nakhchivan by drones flying from Iran.

"Our Armed Forces - the Ministry of Defense, the State Border Service, and all Special Forces units - have been placed at the highest level of combat readiness and are prepared to carry out any required operations," Aliyev said. "We are ready to demonstrate our strength against any hostile force, and they should not forget this in Iran," he emphasized.

On March 5, a drone fell on the terminal building of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic airport, and another one fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad. Several people were injured. The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Iran blamed Israel, saying such actions aim to destabilize relations among Muslim countries.

Aliyev also recalled the January 2023 attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, saying the Iranian special services were behind it.

"We all clearly remember that some time ago, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran was subjected to a terrorist attack. The assailant, acting under the instructions of Iranian special services, carried out a violent attack against Azerbaijani citizens, resulting in one death and one serious injury," the president said. He emphasized that the attack was ordered "at the highest levels of Iran’s state institutions to intimidate Azerbaijan."

On January 27, 2023, an armed attack targeted the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran. The head of security was killed, and two of his colleagues were injured. Embassy staff were evacuated, and operations were suspended until July 2024, when the embassy resumed work.