Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Iran to resolve a diplomatic crisis through conversation, weeks after relations had deteriorated due to reports that Israel's military was operating in the country.
Last month, Iran protested the presence of its sworn enemy Israel in Azerbaijan, threatening to take any action required.
It held military drills near the Azerbaijani border, drawing condemnation from Baku officials, who have refuted Iranian accusations.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Wednesday, and the two decided to work out their issues through conversation.
The sides agreed that recent rhetoric has hurt bilateral relations and that any disputes should be resolved via conversation, according to a statement from Azerbaijan's foreign ministry.
Israel is a significant weaponry supplier to Azerbaijan, which won a six-week battle with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area late last year.
Azerbaijan and Iran have been at odds for decades over Tehran's support for Armenia in the Karabakh war.
Tensions were also heightened by Azerbaijan's intention to levy a customs fee on Iranian truck drivers passing through its territory on their way to Armenia.
According to a statement released by Azerbaijan's foreign ministry on Wednesday, the two countries agreed that direct interaction between government agencies of both countries on transit concerns was essential.
Tehran has long been apprehensive of separatist inclinations among ethnic Azerbaijanis, who account for about 10% of Iran's population of 83 million.
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