13:56, 9 March 2026

Azerbaijan announced the resumption of flights to Nakhchivan.

AZAL announced the resumption of regular flights between Baku and Nakhchivan.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," flights to Nakhchivan were suspended on March 5. At the time, air travel was the only means of transport between the autonomous republic and the rest of Azerbaijan, as bus travel through Iran had been suspended since February 28.

Flights were suspended after a drone attack in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which injured four people. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the attack a "deliberate terrorist attack by Iran," and the Azerbaijani army was put on alert. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that the Islamic Republic had not launched any strikes against Azerbaijan. The drone attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was likely intentional, but Azerbaijan will limit itself to diplomatic and political measures, avoiding direct military escalation, analysts in Baku suggested.

Flights from Baku to Nakhchivan and back are resuming today, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) told the Caucasian Knot correspondent. Six flights are scheduled between the capital and the autonomous republic today.

The resumption of flights indicates a easing of tensions in relations between Baku and Tehran.

"The previous evening, March 8, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The resumption of flights means that air traffic safety is guaranteed. Apparently, the Iranian side provided such assurances. Reopening heavy-duty truck traffic was very important to Iran, as cargo transits through Azerbaijan to Russia and several other countries. "Given the blocked Persian Gulf, this route is becoming vital for Iran," a Baku-based political scientist, who did not wish to publish his name, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

It should be noted that today Baku lifted restrictions on cargo transportation between Azerbaijan and Iran, including transit through Azerbaijan.

On February 8, Israel and the United States began strikes on Iran. Donald Trump announced the start of a large-scale military operation. In response, Iran launched attacks on Israel, American military installations, and civilian targets in the Middle East, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Key Issues on the Impact of the Military Conflict with Iran on the Caucasus."

The Caucasian Knot has compiled materials on the impact of military action in Iran on the Caucasus on its thematic page "Iran: War Is Near."

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/421455