Azerbaijan’s ‘Iron Dome plan’ no threat to Iskander – Armenian expert

Taron Hovhannisyan, who is specialized in Azerbaijani studies, dismisses the reports in the Georgian media that Azerbaijan embarked on the plan to avert possible Iskander strikes by Armenia.

“Those are kind of analyses based on assumptions, and they contain numerous errors. What we know from the statements available for now is only the fact that Azerbaijan has purchased those Iron Domes; yet we do not have factual proofs to firmly insist that they are actually there,” he said.

The Georgian media claim that Azerbaijan has already started installing the Israeli air defense system in capital Baku and the city of Ganja to ensure a reliable defense for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

According to the Armenian expert, however, the battery of interceptors, even if placed, cannot possibly be designed to offer guarantees against possible strikes from the powerful Russian short-range ballistic missile. But Hovhannisyan admitted that Azerbaijan might be facing the need to take its infrastructures under protection (like any other country).

In his words, reports of the kind are intended for the public at large, those groups of people who aren’t virtually aware of technical details to distinguish Iskander form the Iron Dome.

“The emphasis has been put also on the Georgian-Russian relations [to give Russia a clear message] that Georgia too, has the capacity to exercise defense against Russian strikes thanks to the systems etc,” Hovhannisyan added.