Yerevan /Mediamax/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said today that his country is "not afraid” of Iran.

According to Azerbaijani media, speaking today at the international conference “Along the Middle Corridor: Geopolitics, Security and Economy” in Baku, Aliyev stated:

“I worked with three former presidents of Iran - Khatami, Ahmadinejad and Rouhani. For so many years, there has never been a situation similar to today’s. Never before has Iran conducted two military operations in a row for several months at our borders. Never before have so many statements full of hatred and threats against Azerbaijan been made.”

“We have always responded and will continue to respond to any anti-Azerbaijani steps, whether they are statements or actions. Therefore, we were forced to start military exercises on the border with Iran in order to demonstrate that we are not afraid of them. We will do our best to protect our way of life, the secular vector of development of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis, including Azerbaijanis living in Iran. They are part of our nation,” Aliyev said.