Iranians Looking For Safe Haven in Azerbaijan

International tension over Iran's nuclear program, coupled with rising concern about a possible US military response, seem to be prompting a growing number of Iranians to look for temporary residences in neighboring Azerbaijan, international organization representatives and realtors in Baku say.

The number of Iranians leasing apartments in Baku has surged since the beginning of the year, according to realtors in the Azerbaijani capital. "Iranians always buy or lease real estate in Azerbaijan, but, in recent months, their number has visibly increased," said realtor Nazim Aliyev, who estimated that the number of his Iranian customers has increased by 30 to 40 percent during the first three months of 2006.

Huseyn Ahmadi, an ethnic Azeri Iranian from the northern Iranian city of Tabriz, has regularly traveled to Azerbaijan for much of the last decade. He said in an interview that he bought a Baku apartment in February to protect his family in case of a military attack against Iran. "Northern Azerbaijan is my homeland as well. I feel comfortable here because we use the same language. Therefore, I intend to bring my family here if the conflict with the US becomes hot," Ahmadi said. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

One real estate agency owner said Iranian customers show the greatest interest in apartments in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an Azerbaijani exclave that borders on Iran and Armenia. Real estate in the exclave is relatively cheap and diversified and within easy travel distance for Iranians. "The number of Iranian customers has increased sharply in Nakhchivan. ... They started to buy up apartments and villas in Nakhchivan after speculations about a possible attack by the United States against Iran became more frequent," said Etibar Gadjiev. He could not say how long his Iranian customers intended to stay in Azerbaijan. "They stay for different periods . . . we don't keep such statistics," he said.

Ethnic Azeris in Iran comprise roughly a quarter of the country's population of 67.5 million and Azerbaijan is a natural destination for them. But Iranians are coming as well.

The Azerbaijani State Committee for Refugees and Displaced Persons reports that the number of Iranians applying for refugee status in Azerbaijan increased ten-fold in 2005 to 147 applications from just 14 in 2004. Fairly few of those were actually approved, however: between 2004 and 2005, Azerbaijan granted refugee status to 40 Iranian families and 54 individuals, AzSCRDP spokesperson Sanan Huseynov recently told Hesabat magazine.

Nonetheless, though government officials cannot put an exact figure on the number of Iranian migrants entering Azerbaijan, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, Vugar Abdusalimov, stated that the international organization has noticed a steady increase in the number of Iranians claiming refugee status. The reasons for leaving Iran appear to vary widely, from political to religious, he said.

Ahmad Shirinov, Baku mission chief for the International Migration Organization (IOM), commented that any fear of war could have a serious impact on the migration process. "The latest developments over Iran indeed have played a role. This cannot be denied. In any case, the Iranians chose Azerbaijan as their destination," Shirinov said in an interview with ANS TV on March 6. Surveys indicate that many Iranian migrants coming to Azerbaijan intend to travel on to a third country, Shirinov added.

A relatively relaxed visa regime for Iranian citizens could further encourage the property buying/leasing trend. Iranians wishing to travel to Azerbaijan can purchase a three-month extendable visa for $40. A bilateral agreement signed in 2005 would allow Iranians and Azerbaijanis living within 40 kilometers of the border to visit Azerbaijan and Iran, respectively, without visas. The agreement is still awaiting parliamentary ratification.

At a March 6 meeting between Azerbaijani State Customs Committee Chairman Aydin Aliyev and an Iranian delegation headed by Iranian Ambassador Afshar Suleymani, Baku proposed further simplifying the visa regime for Iranians and increasing the number of customs checkpoints. Tehran, in turn, recently proposed eliminating visas for all Azerbaijanis. Currently, Nakhchivan residents can travel in Iran without a visa for 30 days.

But Ambassador Suleymani insisted that there is nothing extraordinary about Iranians traveling to Azerbaijan more frequently. "This has nothing to do with the alleged US attacks on Iran. Under our constitution, every person has the right to choose where to work or live, where to buy a house and whom to marry. These are people's personal preferences," he said. Suleymani described the increase as "usual" ahead of the March 21 Azerbaijani springtime holiday of Novruz Bayram.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is taking steps to strengthen its border with Iran. In February, the Azerbaijani State Border Service (SBS) held talks with representatives of the European Union (EU) and IOM on reinforcing a 249-kilometer section of the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, the IOM's Shirinov said. The project will go ahead in May within the framework of the EU's New Neighborhood Policy.

However, the SBS maintains that these measures are not directed against any neighboring country. Elchin Guliyev, the head of SBS, has dismissed as groundless reports that Azerbaijan is strengthening its border security in connection with US-Iranian tensions.

"Why should Azerbaijan reinforce its borders because of a possible threat to other territories? In general, very serious work is under way to beef up security in Azerbaijan's northern, northwestern, southern and also marine borders. And this has nothing to do with any event. It would not be right to connect this with any specific event," Guliyev stated in remarks broadcast by ATV on February 26.