Azerbaijan denies reports that Israel is to set up military bases aimed at Iran on its territory, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Tuesday.

In late March, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied a media report saying it granted Israel access to air bases near the Iranian border. "This information is absurd and groundless,” ministry spokesman Teymur Abdullayev said.

Mammadyarov on Tuesday reiterated this stance as new reports emerged. “Azerbaijan cannot give a positive response to such initiatives. Iran and Azerbaijan have friendly, neighborly relations, which were once again confirmed at the three-party meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey in Nakhichevan,”

The West accuses Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program but Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely to generate electricity.