Iranian government with prevailing nationalist Persian mentality are making all they can to reduce South Azerbaijani territory as much as possible and wants to disconnect it in the east from the Caspian Sea and in the West from Turkey.
The dominant Persian nationalist mentality, on the other hand, tries to erase the Turkish identity in the cities of Azerbaijan and to weaken the Turkish national consciousness by appointing the Turkish enemies to head positions.
Next examples are just few of them;
Turkish nation enemy, mayor of Tabtiz city, Şehin Baher, appointed Kurdish nationalist Izzet Penahi as vice mayor . His pro-PKK posts in social media were well known. Although the person resigned due the numerous objections, according to the information received, he continues to work in the municipality of Tabriz.
According to the claim, Penahi is engaged in organizing pro-terrorist circles in Tabriz.
In another case, ‘Feyzi ’, deputy of the Erdebil, Turkish enemy tied to the regime, claimed that the Heyran Pass, which is links South Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea, does not belong to Azerbaijan but to Gilan. However, everyone knows and remembers that the city of Astara on the Caspian coast inhabited by Turks, formerly connected to Azerbaijan, was assigned to Gilan a few years ago, only for political reasons.
The Persian nationalist mentality also seeks to forge Turkish names in Azerbaijan. In recent years, propaganda was made to change name of Erdebil to Artavil, and Tabriz to «Tavrij». They claimed, in the wrong manner, that these cities were formerly Armenian cities, and these were the old Armenian names.
However, the Azerbaijani public is aware of these games and reacts within their possibilities. Although reactions are mostly on the internet and in the virtual world, these reactions can also find physical dimensions.
For example, a series of «Tavrij» signs in Tabriz were destroyed by young people. And the other day, a company building, using the name of Tavrij, was set on fire.
Unfortunately, the Persian nationalist mentality, which dominates the Iranian state, is not aware of how dangerous it is to play this game, and how it makes people of South Azerbaijan feel discriminated.
This situation causes the reaction of the South Azerbaijani Turks and sometimes these reactions reach the physical flood.