Russia Says it Hopes Azerbaijan and Iran Resolve ‘Frictions’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia Says it Hopes Azerbaijan and Iran Resolve ‘Frictions’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that he hoped what he called "frictions" between Azerbaijan and Iran would soon be resolved.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, which has a large population of ethnic Azeris in its northwest, have been strained in recent months after Baku announced plans to open formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

Azerbaijan's State Security Service said on Wednesday that it was investigating "a terror attack" after a lawmaker with strong anti-Iranian views was wounded in a gun attack at his home.



Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A series of dozens of earthquakes were recorded in the span of hours in Guatemala, leaving two dead when rocks fell on their vehicle, authorities said. Landslides left several others buried.

More than 37 earthquakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6 were reported in Guatemala Tuesday afternoon, said Edwin Rodas, director of the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology.

The tremors resulted in the evacuation of buildings, landslides, and minor property damage, officials said, adding they were felt as far away as El Salvador.
The two men killed were traveling in a pickup truck on a local road in the department of Escuintla when the rocks fell from a hillside onto the vehicle, firefighters said, according to The Associated Press.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said at a press conference Tuesday that the main epicenter of the quakes was in the department of Sacatepéquez, with aftershocks in the regions of Escuintla and Guatemala department.

At least five people were buried by landslides, but emergency responders were able to rescue two, he added.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction declared an orange alert, the second-highest on the emergency scale.

The US Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:11 p.m. local time, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southwest of the town of Amatitlán, south of Guatemala City, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). It then reported another 5.7 magnitude quake 3 kilometers (2 miles) northwest of San Vicente Pacaya, a municipality in Escuintla, in the south-central region of the country.

Another 4.8 magnitude quake was reported 6 kilometers (4 miles) northwest of Palín, also in Escuintla.