Azerbaijan Protests Shooting of Its Embassy in Tehran, Iranian President Calls for Investigation

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Press and Information Office's of Azerbaijan)

JAKARTA - A gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two others at the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran on Friday, in an attack that Baku branded an "act of terrorism" that it said was the result of Tehran's failure to heed its call to beef up security.

Police in Tehran said they had arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned the incident, but said the gunman had personal, not political motives.

The incident comes amid rising tensions between the two neighbors over Iran's treatment of its large Azeri ethnic minority and Azerbaijan's decision this month to appoint its first ambassador to Israel.

"The attacker broke through the guard post, killed the security chief with a Kalashnikov assault rifle," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, according to Reuters on January 28.

CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed the attacker forced his way into the building, shooting two men before a third embassy employee caught him.

A gray-haired man identified as the attacker was later shown on Iranian state TV, saying he had acted to secure the release of his wife who he believed was being held at the embassy.

A young woman identified as the man's daughter said her mother was in Azerbaijan.

"My mom wasn't at the embassy and I told her, but she didn't accept it," he said.

Separately, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for a "comprehensive investigation" into the incident, extending his condolences to Azerbaijan and the family of the deceased, Iranian state media said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, quoted on the government's website as saying, based on evidence and preliminary observations, the gunman's motives were "entirely personal".

"Necessary security measures have been taken to resume normal activities at the embassy and diplomats of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tehran," he explained.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry responded strongly to the attack, summoning the Iranian Ambassador in Baku to demand justice, saying it would evacuate its embassy staff from Tehran.

It said an "anti-Azerbaijan campaign" in Iran had contributed to the attack, without elaborating, and accused Tehran of long ignoring its calls to beef up embassy security.

"Unfortunately, the latest bloody terrorist act demonstrates the serious consequences of failing to pay the necessary attention to our constant pleas in this regard," the ministry said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian later told Azeri Foreign Minister Jayran Bairamov by telephone that he hoped the attack would not harm bilateral relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demanded swift punishment for those involved in Friday's "act of terrorism".

President Aliyev has in the past complained about Iran's treatment of its Azerbaijani minority, saying for example the Azeris do not have schools where they can study in their own language.

It is known that Azerbaijan, which is a former secular Muslim Soviet republic, has friendly relations with the United States and Israel, and has difficult diplomatic relations with Iran.