Iran governor urges Armenia to withdraw from Karabakh

(Baku Daily) - The governor of Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, Gurbanali Saadat, has said Armenia needs to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh territory to restore peace in the region.

"Iran does not support the regime that’s occupying Nagorno-Karabakh,” Saadat told reporters on Tuesday. "Iran wants Nagorno-Karabakh to be free from Armenian occupation.”

Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, which borders both the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, is home to over 3 million ethnic Azeris.

Armenia captured nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, in a war after the Soviet breakup in 1991.

While major hostilities ended with a ceasefire in 1994, Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.