DUBAI: A person armed with a Kalashnikov-style rifle stormed the Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran’s capital Friday, killing the pinnacle of safety on the diplomatic publish and wounding two guards, authorities mentioned.
Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Rahimi, blamed the assault on “private and household issues,” based on Iranian state tv. Nonetheless, the assault comes as tensions have been excessive for months between neighboring Azerbaijan and Iran.
Video purportedly from the scene of the assault confirmed an empty diplomatic police publish simply close to the embassy, with one man apparently wounded in an SUV parked outdoors. Contained in the embassy previous a metallic detector, paramedics stood over what gave the impression to be a dull physique in a small workplace as blood pooled on the ground beneath.
A press release from Azerbaijan’s International Ministry mentioned that “an investigation is presently underway into this treacherous assault.” The ministry additionally described the attacker as destroying a guard publish with assault rifle fireplace earlier than being stopped by the wounded guards, whom authorities described as being in a “passable” situation after being shot.
Iranian state TV quoted Rahimi as saying the gunman had entered the embassy along with his two youngsters through the assault. Nonetheless, surveillance footage from contained in the embassy launched in Azerbaijan, which matched particulars of the opposite video of the aftermath and bore a timestamp matching the Azerbaijan International Ministry’s assertion, confirmed the gunmen burst by the embassy’s doorways alone.
These inside tried to push by metallic detector to take cowl. The person opens fireplace with the rifle, its muzzle flashing, as he chases after the boys into the small aspect workplace. One other man bursts from a aspect door and fights the gunman for the rifle because the footage ends.
Iranian prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari reportedly mentioned that the gunman’s spouse had disappeared in April after a go to to the embassy. The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan information company quoted Shahriari as saying the gunman believed his spouse was nonetheless within the embassy on the time of the assault — regardless that it was some eight months later.
Azerbaijan borders Iran’s northwest. There have been tensions between the 2 nations as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.
Iran in October launched a army train close to the Azerbaijan border, flexing its martial would possibly amid the nationwide protests rocking the Islamic Republic. Azerbaijan additionally maintains shut ties to Israel, which Tehran views as its prime regional enemy. The Islamic Republic and Israel are locked in an ongoing shadow battle as Iran’s nuclear program quickly enriches uranium nearer than ever to weapons-grade ranges.
Turkiye, which has shut ties to Azerbaijan, condemned the assault, known as for the perpetrators to be dropped at justice and for measures to be put in place to stop comparable assaults sooner or later. Turkiye has backed Azerbaijan towards Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Turkiye, which has been subjected to comparable assaults prior to now, deeply shares the ache of the Azerbaijani folks,” a Turkish International Ministry assertion mentioned. “Brotherly Azerbaijan just isn’t alone. Our assist to Azerbaijan will proceed with out interruption, because it at all times has.”