Major Exercise Underway Near Border With Azerbaijan

The Iranian military is in the midst of a large-scale exercise near the border with Azerbaijan, reports Eurasianet.

The Mighty Iran drills began on Oct. 17 and has included practice crossings of the Aras River, which defines much of the Iranian border with Azerbaijan.

The drills follow recent warnings to Baku about a planned transport route connecting the Azerbaijani Nakhchivan exclave with the mainland in a route it calls the “Zangezur corridor.”

The route passes along the Armenian border with Iran, raising concerns in Tehran about cross-border commerce with its neighbor.

The location of the exercises has not been confirmed, but Iranian media say they are taking place between the Iranian provinces of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan.

The training is described as large-scale, with photos showing tanks and multiple rocket launchers. Iranian military officials say it includes airborne landings and the use of Shahed-136 loitering munitions, of the same type Tehran has sold to Russia.

The exercises are intended to demonstrate the Iranian military’s readiness to confront any effort to cut Tehran’s land link with Armenia, experts said.