The American Spectator

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Regime change, Iranian style

By Ilan Berman on 12.10.07 @ 11:59AM

From the "Iran is not such a good neighbor" department: a court in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan has just convicted more than a dozen militants for plotting a coup to overthrow the government of president Ilham Aliyev with the help of Iranian security services. The news is actually not all that surprising -- Baku and Tehran have had a rocky relationship ever since Azerbaijan's declaration of independence in 1991, and for good reason. With more ethnic Azeris located in northwestern Iran than in all of Azerbaijan, the Iranian regime has long been leery of potential separatist tendencies among its largest ethnic minority, and looking for ways to prevent them. It is, however, further confirmation that being situated next to Iran can be hazardous to your health.

topics:
Iran