Nagorno-Karabakh: Iran warns of ‘regional war’ as fighting rages on

Iran warned that the resumption of fighting between its neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia could escalate into a broader regional war.

President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped to “restore stability” to the region after days of heavy fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.

The enclave is officially part of Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians.

The current fighting is the worst seen in decades, and both sides have blamed each other for the violence.

“We must be vigilant so that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not turn into a regional war,” President Rouhani said on Wednesday.

“Peace is the basis of our work and we hope to restore stability in the region in a peaceful manner,” he added.

President Rouhani also said it was “totally unacceptable” for the lost projectiles and missiles to land on Iranian soil.

His comments came after reports that the projectiles had landed on villages in Iran, just across the northern border with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Our priority is the safety of our cities and towns,” said President Rouhani.

Iran’s Border Guard commander Qasem Rezaei also said his forces had been placed “in the necessary formation” in the face of the fighting.

“Since the beginning of the conflict … several artillery and rocket shells have reached the territory of [Iran]”he said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

“Our border guards are attentive and have moved in the necessary training. They are fully monitoring and controlling the borders.”

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an end to the fighting, which he described as a “tragedy”.

“We are very concerned,” he said in a televised interview. “We hope that this conflict will end in the very near future.

“People are dying [and] there are big losses on both sides. “

Putin also had a brief phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Russia is part of a military alliance with Armenia and has a military base in the country. However, it also has close ties to the government of Azerbaijan.

The United States, France and Russia have jointly condemned the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and called for peace talks, but the conflict shows no signs of abating.

On Wednesday, Azerbaijan said that Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov would meet with international mediators in Geneva on Thursday.

Armenia responded that it was “impossible to hold negotiations with one hand and continue military operations with the other”, and that its foreign minister would not meet with Bayramov in Geneva.

However, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan from Armenia must be in Moscow for talks next week.

Analysis of Orla Guerin in Tartar, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan says it continues to advance around the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. It has more firepower and more sophisticated weaponry.

For now, he seems to have an advantage, but the areas near the front line are within range of bombardments by ethnic Armenian forces.

The city of Tartar, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh, has become a ghost town. It is normally home to 100,000 people, but most appear to have fled.

The main street is empty and littered with broken glass and shrapnel. The shop fronts have been blown up and the roof ripped off.

We found a handful of refugee families underground. An old woman, whose son and daughter are fighting with the Azerbaijani forces at the front, told us that she was waiting for victory and would never leave.

His seven-month-old grandson was snuggled in his arms and was unfazed by the sound of the incoming fire. “He’s used to it,” he explained.

The clashes have displaced half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population, some 70,000 people, the region’s human rights defender Artak Beglaryan told the AFP news agency.

The main city of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, has been hit by several days of shelling. Residents have taken shelter in basements and much of the city has been without power.

There were fresh strikes on Wednesday morning and smoke was seen around Stepanakert, reports AFP.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has accused ethnic Armenian forces of bombing urban areas and attacking civilian buildings.

Its second largest city, Ganja, has been bombed and Azerbaijani authorities said hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

Over the weekend, the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned “the allegations of indiscriminate shelling and other alleged illegal attacks.” He also said that “dozens” of civilians had been killed.

More than 300 people have died since the fighting began on September 27.

But it is feared that the actual death toll among military forces on all sides, as well as civilians, is much higher, as claims of casualties have not been independently verified.