US State Department spokesman Ned Price made statements regarding Iran's increasing rhetoric against Azerbaijan during the daily briefing in Washington. Ned Price was asked, "There is increasing rhetoric from Iran to neighboring countries like Azerbaijan. They have been threatening recently, some statements accusing Azerbaijan of committing some terrorist act on the territory of Iran have also been prepared. Will the US be able to defend those neighboring countries if Iran continues its rhetoric against them?"

"You mentioned the name of Azerbaijan. The Secretary of State had the opportunity to see his Azerbaijani counterpart earlier this week. We have made it very clear that Iran is a threat to the region. We will continue to stand by our partners, support them, and ultimately counter the destabilizing influence that Iran exerts in its region and perhaps beyond," answered Ned Price.

A representative of the State Department stated, "Is there any reason why the United States should not impose sanctions against Iran's supreme leader for human rights violations? We are looking at all suitable instruments. The Iranian regime has been subjected to very heavy sanctions, to say the least. They have sanctions for all their nefarious activities, from their nuclear program to their ballistic missile program to support for terrorism, support for proxies, cyber activities and, yes, Iran's deep concerns about human rights."

Notably, according to a report by Caucasus Watch, after the Second Karabakh War, diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Iran became quite strained and remain difficult even today. After Iran conducted large-scale military drills on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, opened an Iranian consulate in Kapan, Armenia, and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced an Armenian consulate in Azerbaijani-habited Tabriz, Azerbaijan’s rhetoric against Iran became more aggressive, both in the media and at the official level. Beginning in November, deputies of the Azerbaijani parliament, other officials, state TV channels, and public or state agencies began to bring the issue of "South Azerbaijan" [Azerbaijanis call northern provinces of Iran inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis with this term] into the political arena. There were also some unverified reports by Azerbaijani news outlets that leaflets with pictures of the President of Azerbaijan have been spread in Tabriz, Ardabil, and other cities of Iran.