Gunman Kills Security Chief at Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran

Iranian police stand guard in front of the German embassy during a protest gathering in Tehran on July 11, 2009. (Reuters)
Iranian police stand guard in front of the German embassy during a protest gathering in Tehran on July 11, 2009. (Reuters)
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Gunman Kills Security Chief at Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran

Iranian police stand guard in front of the German embassy during a protest gathering in Tehran on July 11, 2009. (Reuters)
Iranian police stand guard in front of the German embassy during a protest gathering in Tehran on July 11, 2009. (Reuters)

A man armed with a Kalashnikov-style rifle attacked the Azerbaijan Embassy in Iran's capital Friday, killing the head of security at the diplomatic post and wounding two guards, authorities said.

No one immediately offered a motive for the attack in Tehran. Video purportedly taken at the scene showed a lifeless body just inside of the embassy past a metal detector, The Associated Press said.

Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

A statement from Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said that “an investigation is currently underway into this treacherous attack.” It also described the attacker as destroying a guard post with assault rifle fire.

Azerbaijan borders Iran to its northwest. There have been tensions between the two countries as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Iran in October launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border, flexing its martial might amid the nationwide protests rocking the Islamic Republic. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which Tehran views as one of its top regional enemies.



Russian Air Attacks Injure Several, Spark Fire in Kharkiv, Ukraine Officials Say 

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on January 28, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on January 28, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russian Air Attacks Injure Several, Spark Fire in Kharkiv, Ukraine Officials Say 

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on January 28, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on January 28, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)

An overnight Russian air attack injured four people, set a private business on fire and damaged several houses in Kharkiv, a city that has been under intermittent Russian fire since the start of the war, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

A 62-year-old woman was hospitalized and a 66-year-old man was injured when debris from a destroyed Russian drone fell, damaging several houses in the Kharkiv district that includes and surrounds the city of Kharkiv, regional governor said.

Emergency services were called soon after midnight to a private business that caught fire in Kharkiv in result of a Russian drone attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on his Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine's state emergency service said the fire engulfed production facilities. Two people suffered acute stress reactions, including a child, the emergency service said.

It was not immediately clear what facility was burning. Video footage showed massive flames coming from what looked like an industrial building.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the nearly three-year war that Russia started with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

Two women and two men were also injured in Russian attacks on the region of Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, the governor of the region, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram. Russia launched 362 strikes on settlements in the region over the past day, he said.

Russia also launched drone attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa, damaging several residential buildings and cars. According to preliminary information, there were no injuries, the mayor of the city said on Telegram.