From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Azerbaijani president says Iran ‘will regret’ drone attack; Sa’ar condemns ‘aggression’
Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev warns that Iran “will regret” its drone attacks in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave.
“These dishonorable people, who committed this act of terror against us, will regret it,” Aliyev says in a meeting with his security council, according to state media. “We will not put up with this groundless act of terror and aggression committed against Azerbaijan. Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement retaliatory measures.”
Aliyev also reiterates that Azerbaijan will not allow its territory to be used by any country to stage attacks on neighboring states, as it stated last year during Israel’s June war with Iran.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemns the attack and stresses that Israel is determined to continue its bombing campaign against the Iranian regime, in a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov.
“This aggression against Azerbaijan and against other countries in the region is completely unacceptable and once again proves that the Iranian regime is insane and unrestrained. Israel is determined to continue the military operation until its objectives are achieved,” Sa’ar writes on X.
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