US backs Azeris in Iran border row

A senior United States official has offered support to Azerbaijan in its dispute with Iran over territorial boundaries in the Caspian Sea.

An American under-secretary of state, Elizabeth Jones, who is visiting Baku, also said Washington could provide aid for Azerbaijan to strengthen its border security, if tensions with Iran worsened.

Ms Jones had earlier condemned Iran for what she called provocative acts.

Last month, an Iranian warship threatened to fire on an Azeri oil vessel in a disputed area of the Caspian Sea; Iran protested to Baku over Azeri oil prospecting in the region.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister, Ali Ahani, was reported to be having talks in Azerbaijan on Monday on the Caspian dispute. Iran wants all further development of oil deposits in the Caspian to be put on hold until agreement is reached on boundaries between all five states bordering the sea.

A delayed meeting on the issue was scheduled to take place in the Turkmen capital, Ashkhabad, in October, but is reported to have been further postponed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service