A handout picture provided by the office of Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader on April 30, 2018, shows Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waving to the crowd as he delivers a speech during Labor Day at the workers鈥� meeting. AFP FILE PHOTO
TEHRAN 鈥� Azerbaijan has closed a mosque linked to Iran鈥檚 supreme leader, Iran鈥檚 Tasnim news agency reported Tuesday, days after Tehran launched war games near their shared border in a move denounced by Baku.
鈥淭he mosque and representative office of Seyyed Ali Akbar Ojaghnejad, representative of supreme leader (Ayatollah) Ali Khamenei in Baku, were sealed and closed today by order of the authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan,鈥� Tasnim said, without giving further details.
Ojaghnejad has held the post since 1996, according to the website of his office, which is located inside the mosque.
Azerbaijan鈥檚 interior ministry spokesman Eskhan Zahidov said in a statement that the move was necessary because of 鈥渁 surge in Covid-19 cases in several locations in Baku鈥� and that the mosque鈥檚 operation had been 鈥渟uspended temporarily鈥�.
Iran鈥檚 embassy in Baku said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it had followed up on the matter via diplomatic channels, adding that there had been no advanced warning of the move.
Since mid-September, tensions have soared between the two neighbors, who share a 700-kilometer (430-mile) border.
On Friday, the Iranian army鈥檚 ground forces began maneuvers near the frontier, a move criticized by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
鈥淓very country can carry out any military drill on its own territory. It鈥檚 their sovereign right. But why now, and why on our border?鈥� Aliyev had told Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Iran invoked its 鈥渟overeignty鈥� to dismiss Azerbaijan鈥檚 concerns.
鈥淚ran will not tolerate the presence of the Zionist regime near our borders,鈥� foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, alluding to Iran鈥檚 arch-foe Israel.
Israel is a major arms supplier to Azerbaijan, which last year won a six-week war with neighbour Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan鈥檚 foreign ministry spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva said Monday that Iran鈥檚 claims were groundless.
鈥淲e reject the allegations of any third party鈥檚 presence near the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, such allegations are totally baseless,鈥� she said.
Another recent bone of contention was Baku鈥檚 decision to impose customs taxes on Iranian trucks crossing its territory to Armenia.
To avoid the route, Iran鈥檚 roads ministry announced on Monday that it was sending a delegation to Yerevan to discuss the completion of a road that directly links Iran to Armenia.
The statement said Azerbaijan 鈥渃urrently controls 20 kilometers of this 400 kilometer road that runs from Norduz (in Iran) to Yerevan鈥�.
Iran was 鈥渞eady to complete the remaining part of the road as soon as possible,鈥� said the statement, which called the road 鈥渟trategic鈥� for Iranian trade.