TEHRAN – A drone came down inside northwestern Iranian territories along Iran’s borders with Azerbaijan as the war between Baku and Yerevan entered its seventeenth day.

The drone crashed while flying over a village in the border county of Pars Abad Moghan on Tuesday Morning.

Citing local sources, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the drone is likely to belong to Azerbaijan or Armenia, which are locked in a deadly war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since late September. The disputed region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by local Armenian forces.

Behrouz Nedayi, the deputy governor of Ardabil for political and security affairs, confirmed that the drone has crashed in Iran, saying that Iranian authorities are investigating whose the drone was and how it crashed.

According to a Fars news report, the drone had something to do with the Azerbaijan-Armenia war during which the two warring sides, especially Azerbaijan, have resorted to combat drones to target each other’s positions.

In addition to the drone, several rockets and mortar shells have landed inside Iran over the past few weeks, prompting Iran to formally warn the two warring sides against violating the Iranian soil.

“Movements in the border areas of our country are being seriously and sensitively monitored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in this regard, while declaring any attack by any of the warring parties in the region on our country is intolerable, we seriously warn all parties to seriously take care in this regard,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry has recently said in a statement.

Iran has called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to immediately cease the war and resolve their differences through dialogue, expressing readiness to facilitate such a dialogue.

“Iran is closely monitoring the alarming violence in Nagorno-Karabakh. We call for an immediate end to hostilities and urge dialogue to resolve differences. Our neighbors are our priority and we are ready to provide good offices to enable talks. Our region needs peace now,” tweeted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shortly after Armenia and Azerbaijan began the war.

A few days ago, Russia brokered a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which was supposed to deescalate tensions in the southern Caucasus region. However, the war didn’t stop and the two warring countries continued to double down on their military operations. The war still rages on with no end in sight.

SM/PA