Midday on Thursday, March 5, 2026, Azerbaijan reported that Iranian drones attacked the Nakhchivan International Airport on its border with Armenia and Turkey, and exploded near a school. One drone hit the terminal building. Of four drones, one was neutralized while the others hit civilian infrastructure. There were two to four people injured, all hospitalized (there are conflicting reports of the count).
Nakhchivan International Airport is about 260 miles southwest of Baku by air. Flights to and from the airport were suspended, and Azerbaijan closed its southern airspace for 12 hours and halted cargo truck crossings along their Iranian border. They threatened a potential response against Iran, and their armed forces were fully mobilized. Iran claimed it was a ‘false flag’ operation that of course was perpetrated by Israel.
Terrifying footage has emerged from inside the Nakhchivan International Airport terminal just moments after an Iranian "Arash-2" kamikaze drone made a direct impact. The video shows shattered glass, structural damage to the ceiling, and thick black smoke filling the departure… pic.twitter.com/xE2t8aDdok
— NewsX World (@NewsX) March 5, 2026
#BREAKING : Another Footage of Iranian drone has struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport. pic.twitter.com/wlwkp7BTSZ
— upuknews (@upuknews1) March 5, 2026
Iran’s targeting of civilians isn’t just collateral damage, it’s literally the point. It appears they are trying to force closure of Azerjbaijani airspace. That would severely constrain travel between Europe and Asia, because European air carriers no longer use Russian airspace. (Carriers like Turkey would continue to be able to transport passengers, as would the big Gulf carriers to the extent their air service fully resumes unabated, since they use Russian airspace.)
They are raising the cost of conflict on American allies – just as attacks on Dubai and Kuwait City airports make life difficult for countries with influence over the United States. Attacks on Israel and U.S. positions aren’t likely to pressure for a cessation in fighting and preserve the regime, but making the costs unacceptably high for allies might. (This could also backfire, turning former allies like Qatar into enemies.)
For those wondering why Iran might strike Azerbaijan, take a look at this image from 3 days ago showing how air traffic to Asia has been rerouted from Iranian to Azerbaijani airspace – a corridor only 170 miles (270 km) wide. Most Asia-bound aircraft no longer overfly Russia, and… https://t.co/xuq7zZaYTH pic.twitter.com/sqkTP6vAIs
— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) March 5, 2026
(HT: Hans)
I suppose we can all imagine crazy routes, over the North Pole from Europe to Alaska and then across the Pacific, or south to Kenya and then northeast to India are possibilities. But a better question might be who is traveling anywhere if this keeps up. One man’s desperate flailing shouldn’t turn the world upside down.
Had been talkin’ bout this… there goes the Turkey-Caucuses-Stans route… seems like Addis is gonna get a lot of traffic… a rare win for Ethiopia!
I actually like reading about which airports are being attacked. I will avoid flying into those area.
However, I have to tease you about one comment: “This could also backfire, turning former allies like Qatar into enemies.” Right, “allies”. LOL!
Hopefully all the people asking “why now?” are seeing the answer in front of their face. Waiting would only raise the costs of dealing with such a fanatical regime that will lash out at anyone and everyone. Israel has severely weakened them by removing the fangs from their proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis and Hamas) and destroying their air defenses and many launchers, factories, and munitions during the 12 day war. They are weak due to the Iranian people not supporting the evil regime. Go, go USA!
The Nakhchivan International Airport in remote Azerbaijan is clearly a strategic military target… Said no one, ever. One wonders if Iran’s military technology is so bad that their precision is limited to 1000 kilometers ? It’s either that or Iran Air is trying to back out of a gate lease…