Azerbaijan blames Iran for attack on embassy in Tehran

Chenar Chalak

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Azerbaijan's foreign ministry on Friday said that the country plans to evacuate its embassy in Tehran following a deadly attack on the facilities earlier in the day, blaming Iran for the incident saying they have repeatedly raised their concerns to Iranian authorities to no avail.

A gunman stormed the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran on Friday morning, killing the embassy’s security chief and wounding two guards. He was detained by Iranian security forces soon after.

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry condemned the attack, believing it had been encouraged by the recent “anti-Azerbaijani campaign” against the country in Iran.

“There have been attempts to threaten our diplomatic mission in Iran before, and measures to prevent such situations and to ensure the safety of our diplomatic missions have been constantly raised before Iran. Unfortunately, the last bloody terrorist attack demonstrates the serious consequences of not showing proper sensitivity to our urgent appeals in this direction,” read a statement from the Azerbaijani foreign ministry.

The statement added that Azerbaijan plans to evacuate the embassy employees and family members as a result of the attack.

Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson of the Iranian foreign ministry, condemned the attack, extending his condolences to the victims’ families and announcing that orders to investigate the incident “with a high priority and sensitivity” have been issued.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “fiercely” condemned the attack, calling for a swift probe into the “unacceptable” incident.


 

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to the country, Abbas Mousavi, to protest the attack, calling on Iranian authorities to thoroughly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrator to justice as soon as possible.

Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan have been high due to the latter’s strong ties to Israel and continued conflict with neighboring Armenia.

In October, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ran military drills on the country’s northern border with Azerbaijan.