The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a guard was killed and two wounded by a man with an assault rifle.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a guard was killed in an attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran.
“The attacker breached the guard post and killed the chief of security with a Kalashnikov,” it added.
The Azerbaijani ministry said that Friday’s attack in Tehran resulted in the injury of two guards. An investigation has been opened.
President Ilham Aliyev described the attack on his country’s embassy as a “terrorist act” and called for a speedy investigation.
“I strongly condemn the terrorist act that took place at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran,” Aliyev said on Twitter.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani “strongly condemned” the attack, according to state television, saying the case was under investigation.
Police in Tehran said they had arrested a suspect and were investigating his motives.
There was no indication from statements by Iranian officials that the motive behind the attack was political.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, quoting the police chief, said the suspect entered the embassy with two children and may have been motivated by “personal issues”.
However, surveillance footage released by Iran’s state-owned Press TV news agency showed what appeared to be the gunman entering the embassy alone and firing inside the building before scuffled with a man who tried to stop him.
Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency quoted Iran’s public prosecutor, Mohammad Shahriari, as saying the gunman’s wife disappeared in April after a visit to the embassy. Shahriari added that the man believed his wife was still in the embassy at the time of the attack.
Turkey, which has close ties to Azerbaijan, condemned the “treacherous attack” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. “Azerbaijan is never alone,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.
Relations between Baku and Tehran have long been tense because Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, Iran’s historical rival.
Iran, home to millions of Azerbaijanis, has long accused Baku of fomenting separatist sentiments in the country.
Iran is also suspicious of Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with Israel, an arms supplier to Baku, saying that Israel could use Azerbaijani territory as a bridgehead against Iran.
