Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Iran had committed a "terrorist act" and instructed the armed forces to prepare retaliatory measures after four Iranian drones crossed into the Naxcivan exclave, injuring four people and damaging the airport terminal and a nearby school, Reuters reported on March 5. Aliyev placed the military on the highest level of combat readiness, closed southern airspace for 12 hours and suspended cargo truck crossings at the Iranian border.

Iranian officials denied responsibility for the strike and said they had launched an investigation. The strike occurred amid intensified regional hostilities between Iran, the United States and Israel, raising the risk of spillover near Naxcivan. Relations between Baku and Tehran have been strained by Azerbaijan's defense ties with Turkey and Israel and its role as a significant oil supplier to Israel, though both sides have recently sought to manage tensions through diplomatic engagement.