Iran has expelled four Azerbaijani diplomats “in response” to Baku’s expulsion of Iranian embassy staff in April, Iranian news agencies reported on Friday.
“Four diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, declared persona non grata, were expelled from Iran last month,” official news agency IRNA said, according to AFP.
It said the Iranian foreign ministry’s “action... was carried out in response to Baku’s expulsion of Iranian diplomats last month.”
This week, IRNA reported the arrest of leaders and members of the Hussainiyoun Brigade, an armed militia founded in Azerbaijan by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Last month, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it had notified the Iranian ambassador that “four employees of the Iranian embassy were declared persona non grata” with 48 hours to leave the country.
Baku accused the embassy staff of carrying out activities “incompatible with diplomatic status” but did not elaborate.
Tensions between the two countries have increased following an armed attack last January on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran that left an Azerbaijani security official dead and wounded two others.
The attack led to Baku suspending its diplomatic mission in the country.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry blamed Iran for the shooting, with spokesman Ayxan Hacizada saying an anti-Azerbaijani campaign had “encouraged the attack.”
At the time, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Tehran strongly condemned the attack, claiming the motivations behind it were “personal.”
Tensions also intensified between both countries with Baku's improving relations with Tehran's arch-enemy Israel. The dispute came to a head when Baku opened an embassy in Israel in late March.
Tehran also fears that Azerbaijani territory could be used for a possible offensive against Iran by Israel, a major arms supplier to Baku, AFP said.
Furthermore, Azerbaijan accused Iran of supporting Armenia against Azeri forces during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in late 2020.
