Azerbaijani journalist: Iran refused to sell us weapons, so we turned to Israel

Published: 2025-08-21 08:36

“President Ilham Aliyev has said in interviews that before we turned to Israel for weapons, we first asked Iran to sell us arms to help liberate our lands. Iran refused, so we turned to Israel and paid for the weapons,” said Rufiz Hafizoglu, deputy director of the Azerbaijani news agency Trend, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“Israel has no right to interfere in Azerbaijan’s internal or foreign affairs. We are a state with an independent domestic and foreign policy,” he added.

Hafizoglu further noted: “When some Arabs criticize us for our ties with Israel, we remind them of their own expanding relations with Israel.”

He also stressed that Azerbaijan does not recognize Hamas’ authority in Gaza, as the UN and many countries consider it illegitimate.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News