Iranian drones struck Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave on March 5, 2026, injuring two civilians and damaging infrastructure at a local airport, prompting Baku to summon Iran’s ambassador and condemn what it described as a violation of its sovereignty.
According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two drones launched from Iranian territory crossed the border into the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic around 12:00 local time. One drone struck the terminal area of Nakhchivan International Airport, while another exploded near a school in the village of Shakarabad in the Babak district.
Two civilians were reportedly injured in the incident. Azerbaijani authorities said the attack caused damage to infrastructure but did not report fatalities.
Airport strike near Iranian border
The drones, suspected to be Arash-2 long-range one-way attack UAVs, struck in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the rest of the country and bordering Iran, Armenia, and Turkey. The airport targeted in the attack lies roughly 10 kilometers from the Iranian border.
BREAKING:
Iranian suicide drones keep striking Nakhchivan Airport in Azerbaijan.
Iran is now attacking almost every country they can. The neighboring countries won’t put up with this craziness for too long. pic.twitter.com/RhUkOAQtee
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 5, 2026
Nakhchivan International Airport (NAJ) serves as a key civilian gateway to the enclave, which relies on air links and transit routes through neighboring countries to connect with mainland Azerbaijan.
In a statement, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest. The ministry said the government “strongly condemns these drone attacks launched from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Reports circulating on social media and in regional outlets also suggest Azerbaijani forces may be increasing their military presence near the Iranian border following the incident, though officials have not confirmed any operational response.
Regional tensions widen
The incident in Nakhchivan comes as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States continues to spill beyond the Middle East, with several neighboring regions affected by missile and drone activity.
On March 4, 2026, Turkey said NATO air and missile defenses destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace after passing through Iraq and Syria.
Alleged Iranian-linked drone strikes against the British Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus have triggered a multinational response from NATO allies. The United Kingdom, Greece, and France have deployed additional naval and air-defense assets to the island.
Paris has also redeployed the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle from the Baltic Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean as part of a broader effort to reinforce regional force protection.
