The director of security for the mission was killed by a gunman who broke into the attack Azerbaijan embassy in Iran on Friday. Iran claimed the attack was carried out for personal reasons, while Baku condemned it as “terrorism.”
The shooting, which also left two embassy security guards injured, was “responsible,” according to Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, whose spokeswoman, Ayxan Hacizada, told local media that a recent anti-Azerbaijani campaign in Iran had “encouraged the action.”
Hacizada later reported that the embassy personnel was “being evacuated from Iran” to Turkey’s public channel TRT Haber.
Two men are seen parking their car and entering the embassy in eastern Tehran in leaked camera footage that has been widely shared on social media and reported by Iranian media. Just then, a sped-up car arrives and strikes the back of their car.
A person spotted getting out of the second car and gesturing to a security guard before pushing his way into the embassy is carrying what looks to be a semi-automatic rifle.
Unconfirmed footage from within the embassy appears to show two guys arriving and one of them unlocking the door in reaction to the disturbance outside, which allowed a gunman to rush in and start shooting.
A guard tackles the attacker while another man appears to be hit in the torso by a bullet and collapses behind an interior door.
The chief of security for the diplomatic mission was killed in the incident, according to Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, which also claimed two guards were injured but were in “acceptable” condition. It added that an inquiry had been started.
First Lieutenant Orkhan Rizvan was the security officer who died in the incident, according to tweets from Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Individual motive
General Hossein Rahimi, the head of Tehran’s police, reported that the attacker had been detained and was an Iranian guy who was wed to an Azerbaijani woman.
Rahimi stated on CNN that the man “says his wife has been imprisoned at the embassy for nine months.”
Iran strongly denounced the incident, according to Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, who also noted that it was motivated by “personal” reasons.
The foreign and interior ministries of Iran emphasised in a joint statement that “based on the data and first observations the attacker fired with a very personal purpose.”
The shooter’s two young children were not visible in the films posted online, according to early accounts in Iranian media, but they had apparently entered the embassy with him.
Another video shared on social media depicts a man’s body laying inside the embassy in a pool of blood, surrounded by security and medical staff.
The guy “has no vital signs,” a paramedic is heard stating in Azeri. Millions of Turkic-speaking, ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran, and Tehran has long accused Baku of inciting separatist ism on its soil.
Given that the former Soviet republic is a strong friend of Iran’s longtime adversary Turkey, relations between the two nations have historically been tense.
Tehran is concerned that Israel, a significant arms supplier to Baku, may exploit Azerbaijani territory. This is an operation against Iran.
Moscow was “shocked” by the incident on Friday, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry.
She posted on Telegram, saying, “We extend our sympathies and solidarity to our Azerbaijani colleagues.