On August 10, 2022, Iran's former ambassador to Armenia, Kazem Sajjadi, shared some views targeting Turkiye and Azerbaijan on his Twitter account. According to the reports of the Armenian press, the Iranian diplomat said: "The existence of terrorists and their transfer from Syria to Azerbaijan, near the border of Iran, is unacceptable. After Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, Syria and Iraq, Turkiye is now looking for an evil activity next to Iran's borders. Turkiye should know that this is a Play with fire."
Faktyoxla Lab. has investigated whether the former Ambassador of Iran to Armenia has threatened Turkiye.
First, we should mention that Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi has worked for many years in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After working in Iran's diplomatic units in the Philippines, Greece, India and Malaysia, he served as Ambassador in Yerevan from 2015 to 2019. While serving in Armenia, Sajjadi, who is currently the adviser to the Iranian Foreign Minister, had warm relations with the Armenian government of the time. It is a fact that he said, "Iran has always been with Armenia and is with it today," in a meeting with Ararat Mirzoyan, who was the head of the Armenian National Assembly, in 2019.
During his tenure in Yerevan, Sajjadi once said, "Iran counts on Armenia's support in promoting its goods to the markets of the Eurasian Union."
After giving information about Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi and his relations with Armenia, let's pay attention to his alleged tweet. The post consists of a statement and a video threatening Turkiye. It is stated in the video that the alleged mercenaries were deployed by Turkiye on the Iranian border of Azerbaijan. This claim is not new. Anyways, it is evident after a few images in the video that there is nothing new. An article in The Guardian newspaper shows up after a few images of soldiers. Bethan McKernan of The Guardian wrote on September 28, 2020, that Syrian mercenaries were sent to Azerbaijan by Turkiye.
Faktyoxla Lab has repeatedly proven that this news and similar 'reports', published a day after the war started, are disinformation.
But it is interesting that the video's makers aimed to create an artificial problem between Turkiye and Iran and to escalate the existing tension over to the Zangazur corridor by "masterfully" inserting this news into the footage. Let's pay attention to the date of the video: August 10, 2022, at 9:47.
After this time, this tweet is served to all Armenian sites. Then, within two days, even yakutsk.ru, based in the Republic of Sakha, one of the farthest corners of the Russian Federation, presents the news with the headline "Turkiye sends 4,000 gunmen to the Karabakh border" with reference to Russia's avia.pro website.
A special tactic designed for two different regions:
The ultimate goals of the news published on Armenian websites were as follows:
- To convey the message of the former Ambassador that Iran stood by Armenia and will continue to stand by it in the same way and to reassure the Armenian community.
- To cover up the news about the deployment of Hashd al-Shaabi and PKK militants to Syria with the support of Iran that has been circulating in the Turkish media for a week and to misinform the global public opinion.
- Deliberately escalating the long-standing tensions in Azerbaijan regarding the Zangazur corridor, which have escalated after Iran appointed a consul to the Kapan town in Armenia's south a few days ago.
- Considering that Russia's mediation mission is now in Karabakh, to cast a shadow over Turkiye-Russia relations, which have been continuing with warm contacts recently.
How can we prove this?
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi, the former Iranian Ambassador to Armenia and currently the adviser to the Iranian Foreign Minister, does not have an account on any social network. The statement was made after the publication of various materials, including in the Armenian media, that contained a link to a Twitter account of Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi. Remember, on August 11, an article circulated in the Armenian media by a user named Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi on Twitter that terrorists were transferred from Syria to Azerbaijan by Turkiye and that their presence near the Iranian borders is unacceptable.
It is noteworthy that this article was actively circulating in the Armenian media, the state news agency Armenpress also published an article with similar content, and now it has been removed after a publication by the Iranian agency IRNA, provided by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was stated that Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi does not use social networks, including Twitter.
Besides, a Twitter user '301arm,' sharing in English, published the aforementioned statement of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and denied the reports spread by the Armenian press.
As a result:
-The Twitter account under the name of the former Iranian Ambassador to Armenia is fake.
-The tweet posted on this account is a manipulation to escalate the already existing tension in the region.
- Claims that Turkiye has sent troops to the region are entirely baseless.
-This news also aims to cast a shadow over Turkiye's growing regional power.
