Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov clarified why the Iranian drivers were ‘punished’. “We expressed our concern to Iran in regard to the passage of Iranian cars through the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Despite this, there are still incidents,” Bayramov said, APA reports.

Bayramov stated that “two vehicles belonging to Iranian companies illegally entered the territory of Azerbaijan during the inspections”. “The drivers were arrested, and the cars were seized. Later, the negotiations continued in different directions, including through diplomatic channels. I believe we achieved a normal outcome. Our goal is to keep the relations with Iran positive as in the past,” he stated.

Baku’s demarche against Tehran, that is, the ban on entry into Nagorno-Karabakh, is actually an attempt to isolate Iran. The two Iranian drivers were de facto kidnapped and are being held in Baku. The incident took place in the section of the Goris-Kapan motorway that is controlled by Azerbaijani troops.