Azerbaijan on Thursday closed part of its airspace near Iran in the south after it said four Iranian drones flew across its border.
The airspace will remain closed for 12 hours, according to a notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by Azerbaijan.
Earlier, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of “terrorism” and threatened retaliation after drone attacks Thursday wounded four people – an incident that could drag yet another country into the Middle East conflict.
Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan’s ally, of trying to stage a provocation.
The midday attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhichevan bordering Iran, Baku said.
“Today a terrorist act was carried out from the Iranian side against the territory of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev told a hastily convened security council meeting.
Azerbaijan’s military “have been instructed to prepare and carry out retaliatory measures … placed on mobilization level number one, and must be ready to conduct any operation,” he said.
“Those dishonorable people who committed this terrorist act against us will regret it. Let them not test our strength… This stain will never be erased from their dirty and ugly face,” he added.
Iran has long expressed concern that Israel – a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier – could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks.
Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets.
Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran’s 83 million citizens.
