Khamenei adviser warns Azerbaijan against hosting rabbinical event
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader warned on Saturday that Azerbaijan would damage the image of Shiites if it proceeds with plans to host a major rabbinical meeting.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader warned on Saturday that Azerbaijan would damage the image of Shiites if it proceeds with plans to host a major rabbinical meeting.
Ali Akbar Velayati said he hoped reports of the event were false, describing it as “anti-Islamic and against the dignity of Shiites.”
Such a move by Baku, he added, was unprecedented and suggested it might be tied to efforts to widen the Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim states normalized ties with Israel.
The remarks appeared aimed at the Conference of European Rabbis, scheduled for Nov. 4–6 in Baku, where Jewish leaders from across Europe are due to convene.
Velayati’s comments come as Azerbaijan deepens international links, including through a landmark peace deal reached in Washington last month. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed the accord at the White House with US President Donald Trump, granting exclusive US development rights to a transit corridor through the South Caucasus.
The route will connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave across southern Armenia. The White House said the project, named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, would expand energy and resource exports.
Tehran has objected to the corridor, warning it sidelines Iranian trade routes and diminishes its role in the region. Iranian officials have also accused Azerbaijan of permitting Israeli activity on its soil, intensifying mistrust.
The dispute over the rabbinical gathering now adds a cultural and religious dimension to already fraught relations between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Speaking to Iran International, the lawmakers hit out at the escalation to the war in Ukraine after Poland said 19 Russian drones reportedly violated its airspace on Tuesday but were thwarted by Polish and NATO jets and air defenses.
Russia has stepped up blitzes on Ukraine in recent weeks involving hundreds of drones each and including Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones. It was not immediately clear if they were among the drones intercepted over Poland.
“Iran has, over the last several years, been a critical and active partner in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Democrat Senator Chris Coons said.
“By providing drone technology and even producing drones inside Russia for use against Ukraine, Tehran has enabled Putin’s war machine.”
Moscow denied any intent to violate Polish airspace, saying it did not seek to strike any targets in Poland and questioning whether the drones came from Russia at all.
The Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said facts are still emerging but said Russia had erred in piercing NATO air space.
“Russia is playing with fire here. Putin has made a lot of mistakes, and this could be the worst one he’s made yet," Republican Senator James Risch told Iran International. "We’ll see how this unfolds.”
'Open conflict' near
Poland, a former member of the Eastern Bloc under Moscow's tutelage for much of the twentieth century has become a staunch Western ally and base for NATO troops as the alliance's relationship with Iran, Russia and China has soured.
The drone incursion rattled its leadership, which warned of a dire escalation.
"This is the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II, but there is no reason to believe we're on the brink of war," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament.
Iran provides drone technology to Russia for its war against Ukraine, prompting a series of punitive sanctions from the United States and European Union.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, confirmed the drones had entered Polish airspace, calling it an accident after the drones' navigation systems were jammed.
Western leaders have frequently warned against what they see as deepening security cooperation among their Eurasian adversaries Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.
After the incidents, Warsaw invoked Article 4 of NATO's charter which enables closer coordination with all NATO member states. A UN Security Council meeting to discuss the developments is scheduled for Friday.
Poland closed all border crossings with Belarus ahead of the joint Russia-Belarus Zapad 2025 military exercises, citing alleged security risks and Russian aggression.
