A gunman stormed the Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran’s capital Friday, killing its security chief and wounding two guards in a blatant attack that demonstrates Iran’s contempt for security.
Following this assault on Iranian turf, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it would evacuate the diplomatic post, accusing Iran of not taking reported threats against it seriously in the past that include inciting comments in hard-line media over Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties to Israel.
Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Rahimi would lose his position as police chief after footage emerged that appeared to show a security force member doing nothing to stop the attack.
“Previously, there have been attempts to threaten our diplomatic mission in Iran, and it was constantly raised before Iran to take measures to prevent such cases, and to ensure the safety of our diplomatic missions,” the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry said. “Unfortunately, the last bloody terror attack demonstrates the serious consequences of not showing proper sensitivity to our urgent appeals in this direction.”
“We are of the opinion that the recent anti-Azerbaijani campaign against our country in Iran led to such an attack against our diplomatic mission,” the ministry added.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev called the assault a “terrorist attack.” He identified the dead security chief as 1st Lt. Orkhan Rizvan Oglu Askarov.
“We demand that this terrorist act be swiftly investigated and the terrorists punished,” Aliyev said in a statement. “Terror against diplomatic missions is unacceptable!”
The attack happened Friday morning, the second day of the Iranian weekend. Surveillance video released in Azerbaijan purportedly showed the gunman arriving by car at the embassy, running into the back of another car parked out front. He exited his car, holding what appeared to be a Kalashnikov-style rifle.
Hints of Iran’s hostile attitude took place during last October, when the country launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border, flexing its martial might amid the nationwide protests rocking the Islamic Republic.
The United Nations, via Secretary General spokesman Stephane Dujarric, condemned the assault and the attacks aimed at diplomats, adding that it’s the responsibility of the host country to provide security. Responding to a question posed by journalist Ahmed Fathi, the spokesperson underlined that this breach of security is an “attack against international law”.
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