The US State Department issued a statement condemning the drone attack allegedly carried out on March 5 from Iran on Azerbaijan. The strike damaged the Nakhchivan International Airport and a school. Civilians were also injured.

Due to the military escalation in the Middle East and the subsequent closure of airspace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan initiated an emergency evacuation of its citizens from the Persian Gulf states. According to preliminary data, approximately 1,000 Azerbaijanis residing in the UAE (490 people), Saudi Arabia (220), Qatar (200), Bahrain (23), and Kuwait (26) have requested evacuation assistance. Furthermore, approximately 300 Azerbaijani citizens have returned to their homeland by land via Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied reports of a strike on Azerbaijan, calling it "an enemy plot seeking to undermine brotherly relations." In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he emphasized that Iran seeks territorial integrity and peace, not attacks on its neighbors.

Azerbaijan's State Security Service (SSS) has accused Iranian intelligence agencies, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), of plotting a series of terrorist attacks in the country. According to Minval, the SSS announced the arrest of several suspects, from whom explosive devices were seized.