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)
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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.



Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
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Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)

Russia and Ukraine said Tuesday they had exchanged captured soldiers, the second stage of an agreement struck at peace talks last week for each side to free more than 1,000 prisoners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday's exchange saw "the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian captivity."

Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in the swap -- the second in as many days following another exchange on Monday.

The two sides had agreed in Istanbul last week to release all wounded soldiers and all under the age of 25.

Russia's defense ministry said: "In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, the second group of Russian servicemen was returned."

Zelensky said further exchanges would follow.

"The exchanges are to continue. We are doing everything we can to find and return every single person who is in captivity."

The agreement had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, with both sides trading accusations of attempting to thwart the exchange.

Russia says Ukraine has still not agreed to collect the bodies of killed soldiers, after Moscow said more than 1,200 corpses were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border.

Russia said it had agreed to hand over the remains of 6,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, while Kyiv said it would be an "exchange".

Moscow and Kyiv have carried out dozens of prisoner exchanges since Russia invaded in 2022, triggering Europe's largest conflict since World War II.