Rouhani warns Karabakh conflict may spillover amid alleged Iranian support for separatists
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., Sept. 26, 2019. (Reuters Photo)


Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Wednesday warned of the danger of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict turning into a regional war amid speculations that Tehran is supporting separatist Armenian forces in their fight against Baku's military.

"We must be careful that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not become a regional war," he said in televised remarks.

"Peace is the basis of our work, z and we hope to restore stability to the region in a peaceful way," Rouhani added, claiming Iran would not allow "states to send terrorists to our borders under various pretexts."

Iran has previously drawn fire from the country's ethnic Azerbaijani Turks for its alleged support to separatist forces illegally occupying Azerbaijan's territory, as military equipment has reportedly been transferred through the Iran-Azerbaijan border.

Ethnic Azerbaijanis, who constitute a large portion of the population in northwestern Iranian cities like Ardabil, Tabriz and Urmia, and at least one-third of Iran’s population of 81.8 million, poured onto the streets recently demanding Iranian authorities close the country’s border with Armenia.

Video footage circulating on social media showed Iranian police breaking up the protests using tear gas and rubber bullets.

Earlier Wednesday, Iranian authorities arrested at least 11 pro-Azerbaijan protesters, according to the Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency.

It said police forces used tear gas to disperse activists, who had gathered at a park in Ardabil in solidarity with Azerbaijan in the wake of Armenian attacks.

Three activists were also wounded, it added.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter stalemate over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The fiercest clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in years, over the occupied region, ignited Sunday. As of Thursday, at least 130 deaths have been confirmed as fighting spilled over into the fifth day.

Four U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and two U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, as well as many international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict but to no avail.

Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as Azerbaijani territory by the U.N. and virtually every government in the world except Armenia.