Azerbaijani embassy in Iran suspends operations as fatal shooting attack raises tensions

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran has suspended its operation in the country’s capital and evacuated its staff after a fatal shooting incident rattled the embassy in Tehran earlier this week. On Sunday, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Khalaf Khalafov, announced that the embassy is suspending all its diplomatic activities in the Iranian capital, Tass reported. Khalafov also stated that five embassy employees are staying in Tehran, however, they will not be engaging in diplomatic activities. 

"We have completely suspended the embassy’s diplomatic activities," Khalafov announced on Sunday. The Azerbaijani diplomat also informed that Azerbaijan’s consulate general in Tabriz would continue to operate routinely. The announcement took place two days after a man armed with a Kalashnikov-style rifle barged inside the embassy on Friday and killed the Head of Security, leaving two guards injured. At that time Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Rahimi, claimed that the attack happened due to some “personal and family problems”.  The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan then went on to accuse Tehran of neglecting the reported threats. The ministry even called the incident a “terror attack”. In a statement released on January 27, the Ministry wrote, “We strongly condemn the treacherous Terror Attack against the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Embassy staff and family members evacuated from Iran after the fatal attack

After the fatal attack jolted the Azerbaijani embassy, the consulate decided to evacuate its staff and their families. According to TASS, a plane with evacuated personnel of the embassy in Tehran landed in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Sunday evening. The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Germany, Nasimi Aghayev, shared a video on Twitter, in which the Azerbaijani diplomats can be seen getting down from the aircraft with their families. “After a deadly terrorist attack against #Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran, the Embassy staff & their family members have been evacuated from #Iran. They’ve just arrived in Baku,” the ambassador wrote on Twitter.

After a deadly terrorist attack against #Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran, the Embassy staff & their family members have been evacuated from #Iran. They’ve just arrived in Baku. pic.twitter.com/NZpPlnih2x

— Nasimi Aghayev (@NasimiAghayev)

Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, condemned the fatal shooting incident and called it a “terror attack”. “I fiercely condemn the terrorist attack perpetrated against our Embassy in Tehran today. I convey my deepest condolences to the family and loved one of First Lieutenant Orkhan Rizvan oglu Asgarov, who lost his life defending the Embassy and its staff. We demand that this terrorist act be swiftly investigated and the terrorists punished,” the President wrote on Twitter on January 27. “Terror against diplomatic missions is unacceptable!” he added. 

pic.twitter.com/h9i014VsGt

— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz)