Azerbaijan to Evacuate Embassy in Iran After Attack

A view shows the sign of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)
A view shows the sign of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)
TT
20

Azerbaijan to Evacuate Embassy in Iran After Attack

A view shows the sign of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)
A view shows the sign of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

Azerbaijan will evacuate embassy staff and family members from Iran on Sunday, the foreign ministry said, two days after a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people in an attack Baku branded an "act of terrorism".

Police in Tehran have said they had arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned Friday's incident, but said the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive.

After the attack, the Azeri foreign ministry said it summoned Iran's ambassador in Baku to demand justice and would evacuate embassy staff from Tehran.

It gave no further details, including whether the embassy would continue to function.

Earlier, the ministry said the shooting was the result of Tehran failing to heed its calls for better security.

CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed the attacker forcing his way into the embassy building and shooting at two men before a third embassy employee grapples him away.

A grey-haired man identified as the attacker was later shown on Iranian state TV saying he had acted to secure the release of his Azeri wife who he believed was being held at the embassy.

A young woman identified as the man's daughter said her mother was in Azerbaijan.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for "a comprehensive investigation" of the incident and sent his condolences to Azerbaijan and the dead man's family, state media said.

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. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which angered Tehran.



EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
TT
20

EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

The European Union called on Iran "to engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process", an EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said on Tuesday.

"This escalation benefits no one, and everybody is concerned by the same thing, which is the spillover effect," El Anouni said.

Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.