FOLLOW-UP ON THE IRANIAN DIASPORA IN AZERBAIJAN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000820

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017
TAGS: PINR SCUL IR AJ
SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP ON THE IRANIAN DIASPORA IN AZERBAIJAN
(C-TN7-01028)

REF: A. STATE 075656

B. BAKU 000761

C. BAKU 000451

D. BAKU 000315

BAKU 00000820 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Joan Polaschik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
)


1. (S/NF) Summary: Although Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ)
estimates put the size of the Iranian diaspora community in
Azerbaijan at 10,000, non-official estimates range from
10,000 to 25,000. The majority of Iranians living in
Azerbaijan appear to do so for economic or political reasons;
most have chosen not to sever their ties with Iran. Iranians
in Azerbaijan maintain contact with Iran primarily through
travel for family or business purposes. The majority of
expatriate Iranian students in Azerbaijan report that they
are interested in returning to their home country and receive
no money from the Iranian government to support their studies
in Azerbaijan (ref b). Iranian expatriates have access to a
wide range of foreign and domestic media outlets in
Azerbaijan. End Summary.


2. (S/NF) Although GOAJ estimates put the size of the
Iranian diaspora population in Azerbaijan at 10,000,
non-official estimates in the local media or "on the street"
are usually higher, ranging anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000.
Like the majority of our NGO, business, and government
contacts, we feel comfortable with an estimate of 10,000
Iranians living in Azerbaijan (GRPO concurs with this view).
Embassy contacts report that the majority of Iranians in
Azerbaijan live in and around Baku, and in Azerbaijan's
southern border regions, where extended families can span
both sides of the border. According to Embassy human rights
contacts, a small number of Iranians live in the Azerbaijani
exclave of Nakhchivan and are involved primarily in small
business and trading ventures. Not having previously
monitored Iranian traffic into and out of Azerbaijan, the
GOAJ has suggested that it will start tracking the travel
patterns of Iranians into and out of the country (ref c).


3. (C) The majority of Iranians resident in Azerbaijan
appear to be here for economic reasons. These Iranians most
often view their stay in Azerbaijan as something temporary,
usually reporting a desire to stay for three to five years.
For this reason, these Iranians choose not to sever their
ties with Iran. As economic conditions in Azerbaijan have
improved over the last five to ten years (and Embassy Iranian
contacts report economic conditions in Iran have deteriorated
considerably over this same period),Azerbaijan has become
more attractive to Iranian businessmen and investors. Most
Iranians appear to be involved primarily in small trading
ventures, but anecdotal evidence suggests that Iranians have
also invested in the Azerbaijani real estate market, a good
investment in recent years as the Baku property market has
boomed. (Note - While some Iranians report having invested
in the Azerbaijani property market due to concerns over
increasing tensions with the U.S., most have done so because
domestic investment opportunities have become less attractive
than foreign opportunities due to rising rates of inflation,
decreasing interest rates on their savings and an
increasingly expensive real estate market.)


4. (C) Most Iranians living in Azerbaijan due to political
reasons appear to be Azeri nationalists for whom returning to
Iran would be a dangerous proposition. According to Iranian
and human rights contacts, dozens of Azeri nationalists
sought refuge in Azerbaijan after the May 2006 ethnic Azeri
protests in northwestern Iran. Anecdotal evidence suggests
that no more than a few hundred Iranians are living in
Azerbaijan for political reasons, with less than eighty
having applied for refugee status in 2006, according to UNHCR
contacts. The GOAJ tends to tolerate their presence and
political activities as long as they maintain a low profile,
usually deporting only those whose activities have drawn the
attention of Iranian authorities. These Iranians rarely
return to Iran, usually severing their ties either by
remaining in Azerbaijan or seeking refuge elsewhere (Turkey,
Europe and North America reportedly most popular). Leaders
of the Azerbaijani Baha'i community (reportedly one of the
oldest Baha'i communities outside of Iran and comprised of
approximately 500 members) also report providing assistance
to members of their faith seeking to leave Iran, usually
fewer than a dozen per year. They report that Israel, Europe
and North America are the destinations of choice for members

BAKU 00000820 002.2 OF 002


of the Baha'i community exiting Iran.


5. (C) With no impediments to travel (to include visa free
travel between Nakhchivan and Iran - see ref c),Iranians in
Azerbaijan travel to Iran frequently for business or family
purposes. Regular air, sea, and land conveyances link the
two countries, and travel by privately owned vehicle or bus
(multiple buses departing Baku for Tabriz and Tehran daily)
reportedly most popular. Means of communications with Iran
are similarly broad, facilitated by reliable landline and
mobile telephone systems, and the internet. Of these means,
most Iranians report a preference for using mobile telephones
(for calls and text messaging),believing mobile telephones
to be less susceptible to the monitoring efforts of Iranian
authorities than landline calls or email. Iranians in
Azerbaijan also keep up with events in Iran through the many
foreign and domestic media sources available in Azerbaijan.


6. (C) Iranian expatriates have access to a wide range of
foreign and domestic media outlets in Azerbaijan. For news
about events inside of Iran, most Embassy Iranian contacts
report VOA programming to be credible, with Iranians in
Azerbaijan following both the Azeri and FARSI-language
services. Among Azerbaijani television stations, ANS and
Lider Television are the most popular (one contact suggesting
ANS Television to be popular among Tehran's Azeri
population). Foreign channels, primarily secular Turkish
satellite stations, are also reportedly popular. Concerning
separatist channels such as Oyanish Television and GunAz
Television, Embassy contacts report that they do not enjoy a
large following among Iranians in Azerbaijan. Iranian state
television stations to include Seher Television (broadcast to
Azerbaijan in Azeri) are reportedly similarly unpopular.


7. (C) Similar to the many Iranians who come to Azerbaijan
for business purposes, the majority of expatriate Iranian
students report that they are interested in returning to
their home country after completing their studies. Iranian
students report that they receive no financial support from
the Iranian government to support their studies in
Azerbaijan, indicating that the Iranian government would
prefer them to study in another neighboring country. Please
see ref b for additional information on Iranian students
studying in Azerbaijan.
LU