Irredentist claims by Azerbaijani nationalists would mainly seek to incorporate large sections of Iran as well as parts of Armenia, Russia, Georgia and Turkey within a proposed enlarged territory known as Whole Azerbaijan. Iran hosts a larger number of ethnic Azerbaijanis than the independent nation of Azerbaijan, and prior to the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 the name of "Azerbaijan" was exclusively used to identify the adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran.. Azerbaijani consciousness is also central to wider cooperation with ethnically affiliated populations through Pan-Turkism.
During the Soviet era, Armenians and Azerbaijanis coexisted peacefully. When the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out, however, this changed radically. The initial Armenian claims to Nagorno-Karabakh, in Azerbaijan, yielding from Armenian nationalism, were laid in late 1987. From 1998, Armenia began accusing Azerbaijan of embarking on a campaign of destroying a cemetery of finely carved Armenian khachkars in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. On May 30, 2006, Azerbaijan barred the European Parliament from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site. Charles Tannock, British Conservative Partyforeign affairs spokesman in the European parliament, stated, "This is very similar to the Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban. They have concreted the area over and turned it into a military camp. If they have nothing to hide then we should be allowed to inspect the terrain." Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian Socialist MEP and member of the committee barred from examining the site, said he hoped a visit could be arranged in the autumn. He stated that "if they do not allow us to go, we have a clear hint that something bad has happened. If something is hidden we want to ask why. It can only be because some of the allegations are true." He also warned: "One of the major elements of any country that wants to come close to Europe is that the cultural heritage of neighbors is respected." A key advocate of Azerbaijani nationalism is Farida Mammadova, who has made anti-Armenian statements. In response to desecration of Azerbaijani holy sanctuary Agadede south of Yerevan in 2005, Mammadova said that "it is known, that on whole planet exactly the Armenian people is distinguished by the absence of spiritual and other human values. And it is them who are used to appropriate the cultures of other nations while living in another state". According to Thomas de Waal, Mammadova has grasped the Albanian theory after studying the history of Caucasian Albania and used it to push the Armenians out of Caucasus altogether. She has placed Caucasian Albania on the territory of modern Armenia: all the territories, churches and monasteries in Armenia have appeared Albanian. Mammadova had visited the Gandzasar monastery in 1975 and read the inscription on facade "I Hasan-Jalal, built this church for my people of Aghvank..." referring to an ancient name of Albania.
