Azerbaijan hands two detained drivers over to Iran

The two drivers detained earlier for smuggling and illegal border crossing have been released and handed over to the Iranian party, Azerbaijani authorities have informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 11, an Azerbaijani police post began working on the border section of the highway connecting the Armenian cities of Goris and Kapan. Arman Tatoyan, the Armenian Ombudsperson, said that Azerbaijanis stop trucks with Iranian number plates and claim payment from them. On September 15, it became known about the arrest of two Iranian truckers who were transporting cement. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) stated that the truckers had illegally crossed the border.

On October 21, the Iranian citizens, Barzegar Khagkhi Djafar Gazanfar and Noruzi Shakhrud Geidar, were returned to Iran, the 1news.az has reported citing the Azerbaijani Customs Committee.

"This step was taken on the basis of the principles of humanism and as a sign of the goodwill of the Azerbaijani party," the "Report.az" has cited the message of the Azerbaijani Customs Committee.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that on October 12, Iran accused Azerbaijan of the presence of military personnel of third countries, in particular Israel, on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border. Azerbaijan then refuted the Iran's accusations, claiming that it is able to independently defend its country's borders.