Azerbaijan Investigates Assassination Attempt against Anti-Iran MP

A police officer stands in front of the house of MP Fazil Mustafa in Baku (Azerbaijan EPA)
A police officer stands in front of the house of MP Fazil Mustafa in Baku (Azerbaijan EPA)
TT
20

Azerbaijan Investigates Assassination Attempt against Anti-Iran MP

A police officer stands in front of the house of MP Fazil Mustafa in Baku (Azerbaijan EPA)
A police officer stands in front of the house of MP Fazil Mustafa in Baku (Azerbaijan EPA)

Azerbaijan State Security Service was investigating a "terror attack" after an anti-Iran lawmaker was wounded at home.

MP Fazil Mustafa was hospitalized after sustaining injuries in his shoulder and thigh when he was shot with a Kalashnikov rifle on Tuesday evening. The security service said the injuries were not life-threatening, and a criminal investigation was launched to determine the perpetrator.

Azeri news site "haqqin.az" quoted Mustafa as saying from the hospital that he had been hit by two bullets while driving into his garage.

The State Security Service said Mustafa was known for his critical views on Iran, Azerbaijan's southern neighbor.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev instructed the security services to investigate the terrorist attack, according to Azerbaijani Trend.

Relations have been strained between Azerbaijan and Iran in the past few months. Azerbaijan closed its embassy in Tehran in January after a "terrorist attack" that killed its security chief.

Azerbaijan maintains close relations with Israel, which officially opened its embassy in Baku on Wednesday. The move sparked outrage in Tehran. Baku also bought Israeli-made drones for its army.

After the attack on Iranian facilities two years ago, Iranian media accused Azerbaijan of allowing Israeli drones to target Iran.

Tensions remain high between Baku and Tehran as Azerbaijan and Armenia fight over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran also wants to maintain its border security with Armenia, which is under threat if Azerbaijan seizes new territory.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, that he hopes to resolve the "frictions" between Azerbaijan and Iran soon. Moscow maintains friendly relations with both countries.

Last Saturday, Russia, the mediator in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, accused Baku of violating the ceasefire that ended the war between the two countries in 2020 by allowing its forces to cross into the Shusha region, where Russian peacekeepers are deployed.



US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)

US House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Israel to address the parliament on June 22, he said on Wednesday.

"Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements," Johnson said in an emailed statement.

Punchbowl News, which first reported Johnson's plan, said the House Speaker was expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the trip.

Johnson did not provide further details on the planned trip.

Johnson announced the visit as Israel presses on with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 20 months after it launched its offensive there in response to a deadly incursion into Israel led by the Palestinian group Hamas.

On Tuesday, Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel called the action "outrageous" and said the Israeli government would hold a meeting early next week to decide how to respond.