Azerbaijan has suspended flights to Nakhchivan amid military conflict in Iran.

Due to military action in Iran, bus routes through that country between Baku and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have been suspended. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has recommended that citizens refrain from visiting Iran and Israel.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," amid escalating relations between Iran and the United States, negotiations are underway between the authorities of Azerbaijan and Iran. Baku has declared its refusal to use its territory to attack its neighbor, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated his readiness to help ease tensions.

Due to military actions in Iran, bus routes between Baku and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have been suspended through that country.

Due to the events in the Middle East, for security reasons, Baku-Nakhchivan-Baku bus routes, which were carried out through the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have been suspended, the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency (AYNA) announced today.

In particular, on February 28, flights from Baku to Nakhchivan, which were scheduled for 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time), have been canceled. and 20:00 (19:00 Moscow time). The flight from Baku to Sharur (a regional center in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) has also been postponed. In addition, flights from Nakhchivan to Baku at 15:30 (14:30 Moscow time), 16:30 (15:30 Moscow time), and 17:30 (16:30 Moscow time) have been canceled, as well as the flight from Sharur to Baku at 16:30 (15:30 Moscow time).

The resumption of Baku-Nakhchivan-Baku flights will be announced later, the press release says.

Since the outbreak of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, There is no direct land connection between Azerbaijan and its exclave.

Passenger transportation is carried out by bus routes through Iran and by AZAL aircraft.

AZAL reported that flights to Nakhchivan from Baku and back are operating as scheduled.

At the same time, the company's flights to Tel Aviv, Jeddah, and Dubai that departed on the morning of February 28 returned "due to events in the Middle East."

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on citizens to refrain from traveling to Iran, and for those currently in Iran to leave the country through Azerbaijan or Turkey, depending on their location.

The ministry also recommended refraining from traveling to Israel.

The US and Israel attributed the strikes on Iran to the lack of progress on the nuclear deal

US President Donald Trump announced the start of a large-scale military operation against Iran, according to a video he posted on his social media account, Truth Social. Trump accused Iran of a "relentless campaign of bloodshed and mass murder" against the United States and its allies and stated that his goal is to "protect the American people by eliminating the immediate threats posed by the Iranian regime," whose activities "threaten the United States, our troops, our bases abroad, and our allies around the world."

The US President added that Tehran should not have nuclear weapons. He explained the start of the operation by saying that Washington had "run out of patience" in the nuclear deal negotiations. "We will destroy their missiles and level their missile industry. It will be destroyed," the White House chief promised.

The Pentagon is calling the joint Israeli-US military operation "Epic Fury," according to a post on the department's X page.

On the morning of February 28, Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran. Explosions were heard in Tehran, as well as in Isfahan (the country's second-largest city, home to the country's largest nuclear center), Karaj (a suburb of Tehran), and Kermanshah Province in western Iran. In total, approximately 30 targets across the country were hit, RBK reports.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the start of the operation against Iran. He described it as a "preemptive strike" aimed at "eliminating threats to the State of Israel."

Israel, together with the United States, has launched an operation against the Iranian regime, dubbed "Lion's Roar," which we consider a direct existential threat. The goal is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, stated Dmitry Gendelman, adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's office, on his Telegram channel.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes against American military facilities in the Middle East. Tehran's targets included the US Navy's Fifth Fleet maintenance center in Bahrain, as well as air bases in the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, RBK reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the "armed aggression" against Iran and called for peace in the Middle East based on international law, mutual respect, and a balance of interests.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the joint US-Israeli operation a "pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression" against a sovereign state and demanded "an immediate return to the path of political and diplomatic resolution," according to a statement on the ministry's website.