The tension between the US-Israel duo and Iran decreases a little every day. The same cannot be said for the relations among our compatriots who support these states.
General tension, the enthusiasm for “pitting rams against each other” on social networks, exchanging words, quarreling, and accusing each other remain facts.
Those against Iran say that Iran has 100,000 people in our country.
“One hundred thousand” is a conditional number. Iran’s people in our country could be 105,000, or 95-98,000. On average, they take it as 100,000.
Those who are fond of Iran confidently say that there is a large network of Zionists in the country, and they are either afraid of the Jewish state or receiving money from it.
However, it is a known fact that Israel is not a state that spends money on maintaining mass spies and networking in another country. It is a “targeted shooting,” working everywhere in the world with those who have real influence levers and positions in hand.
In this matter, Iran is more open. To bring forward, it needs a strong force, that is, many supporters. Therefore, there are large groups in our country who do not oppose Iran. They justify this state and its policy in all cases.
There are also many who solely on the basis of religious-sectarian unity and because their ancestors came from Iran get outraged, but they are not active in promoting Iran’s propaganda; they wisely keep silent when they see the atmosphere is not suitable.
The most dangerous group is those who are ready to confront our country’s law enforcement agencies if ordered by Iran. They do not hesitate when they receive an order to carry out a terrorist act.
Israel does not have such groups under its control. Tel Aviv cannot get even a single picketing person to come out in Baku.
So, who are those who consider Israel justified in its conflict with regional countries?
The main role here is played by the long-term friendship cushion between Israel and Azerbaijan. Thousands of people who have moved to this country living in Azerbaijan without problems have created a friendship bridge in between and always express their satisfaction with our country. This good attitude is reciprocated.
There is still a factor overshadowing this friendship to some extent: the deterioration of relations between Israel and Turkey in the last 10-15 years. Otherwise, there would be many more supporters of the first (Israel) in the Israel-Iran confrontation. Because Turkey has repeatedly proved its brotherhood.
The Iranian state has created such large groups of supporters in our country over 34 years, not with sincere relations but with money-power. Since the day Azerbaijan gained independence, the regime in Iran has seen this country, figuratively speaking, as “North Iran” and began its activities accordingly.
Now those actively promoting Iran in social networks say that in the difficult days we faced in the early years of our independence, Iran did not defend its Muslim-Shia brothers but helped Armenia, which occupied our lands.
At that time, Armenia, exposed to military aggression supported by powerful Christian states, should not have been “neutral” in this conflict by Iran — just as Israel is never neutral in the Israel-Palestine conflict and always supports the Palestinians.
In the following years, pro-Iran spy groups were repeatedly exposed in our country. They even formed a political party, were in opposition to authorities, and received all their instructions from Tehran. At that time, the Azerbaijani leadership, unwilling to open up to Iran, stated that these individuals were convicted of espionage but overlooked which country they worked for. The public, however, knew everything.
The years when the Nardaran village was truly turned into “North Iran” by Iran are not that far away. This issue had become so intense that eventually the country's law enforcement agencies had to conduct an operation.
In recent years, there is an issue that worsens the attitude toward Iran. It is the periodic and mass smuggling of narcotic substances from Iran into our country. The names of those caught on this, the weights of the narcotics (down to grams), and the exact place and day of detection of the “poison” are completely known, and it is considered that Iran is mass addicting the youth of this country to narcotics.
The reality is this. Our citizens derive conclusions from information, and propaganda has very little role in this matter. More precisely, although many people are influenced by propaganda regarding Iran, in matters of attraction to Israel, the main role is played by information and undeniable facts present in the environment.
Religious brotherhood and friendly neighborhood are good things, but sincere approaches must be mutual. A brother should not harbor spy networks or sabotage groups in a brother’s house.
Khalid KAZIMLI