The driver of the car did not care about what happened, as he quickly got out to the embassy and stormed its door, and the camera showed that the Iranian security guard, who was outside the embassy building in the usual guard booth in front of diplomatic missions, did not move to deter him.
Inside was the assailant armed with a submachine gun "Kalashnikov"shooting indiscriminately, killing the embassy security official and two guards, all of them Azerbaijanis.
And the video of the surveillance camera at the embassy shows that two people entered the embassy building, and it seems that they were from its guards, and their movement was normal, and moments later a third person appeared, and suddenly they heard a strong sound outside, apparently as a result of the collision, and they rushed towards the door to find out what happened.
As soon as one of them opened the door, the attacker surprised him with bullets, so he and those with him retreated, and the attacker started shooting indiscriminately, until one of the security forces managed to control him.
The Iranian police managed to arrest the attacker and are currently under investigation.
The official Iranian version of the motives
reported the official Iranian news agency "Erna" that "The motives for the attack are personal"explained in detail:
- The attacker alleged that his wife had checked into the embassy in March and had not returned home.
- He checked with the embassy many times without getting an answer.
- He thought that his wife was in the embassy building and did not want to meet him, so today he decided to attack the embassy with a gun "Kalashnikov" prepared for this purpose.
- The man filed a case in West Azerbaijan Province in Iran, regarding his wife, who holds Azeri citizenship.
- Investigations showed that his wife returned to Azerbaijan, so the case was closed, but the man did not stop raising the issue.
Official Iranian commentary
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on the embassy.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the family of the Azerbaijani embassy employee who was killed.
He expressed his condolences to the government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and said "The police and security forces intervened immediately and arrested the perpetrator, who is currently being questioned".
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hossein Abdollahian offered his Azeri counterpart a joint investigation into the attack.
Azeri responses
However, this version did not seem to convince Baku, as it spoke of previous threats against its embassy and Tehran’s involvement in incitement against it.
In the most prominent reaction in Azerbaijan to the attack, its president condemned Ilham Aliyevthe attack on his country’s embassy in Tehran, describing it as"the terrorist".
Aliyev demanded a speedy investigation with "the terrorist" And punish him, stressing that "Terrorism against our diplomatic missions is unacceptable".
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iran’s ambassador to Baku, Abbas Mousavi, and announced the withdrawal of its diplomats and their families from Tehran.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry informed the Iranian diplomat "her strong protest" On the attack that targeted her country’s embassy in Tehran.
In a statement posted on her website, she said: "Iran, as the country in which the embassy is located, has a responsibility under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to ensure the security of the embassy and the safety of its personnel".
She stated that there had been attempts in the past to threaten her diplomatic mission in Tehran, noting that she had repeatedly raised the matter with the Iranian authorities to take the necessary measures.
Follow up: "Unfortunately, however, the bloody terrorist attack shows the disastrous consequences of not responding to our urgent appeals in this direction.".
She said that the campaign against her, which was launched in Iran, led to such an attack against her diplomatic mission.
And the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry decided to withdraw its diplomatic staff from Tehran with their families, as a result of"terrorist attack".
How are the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan?
In general, the relations between the two countries have been cool for a long time, for several reasons:
- Dispute over border areas.
- Iran aligned with Armenia in the dispute with Azerbaijan.
- Iran has 25 million ethnic Azeri, and tends to secede from Iran.
- Rapprochement between Turkey and Azerbaijan at the expense of Iran.
- It got to the point that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard sometimes mobilized its fighters on the border with Azerbaijan.
- Tehran is apprehensive about the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel, which is an important supplier of weapons to Baku.
- You think that Tel Aviv might use the Azeri lands to move against it.
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Attack details
At eight in the morning a car arrived at the entrance Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran Immediately, while its driver was trying to park it, he hit another car that was in front of the embassy.
The driver of the car did not care about what happened, as he quickly got out to the embassy and stormed its door, and the camera showed that the Iranian security guard, who was outside the embassy building in the usual guard booth in front of diplomatic missions, did not move to deter him.
Inside, the attacker armed with a submachine gun wasKalashnikovHe fired indiscriminately, killing the embassy security official and two guards, all of them Azerbaijanis.
And the video of the surveillance camera at the embassy shows that two people entered the embassy building, and it seems that they were from its guards, and their movement was normal, and moments later a third person appeared, and suddenly they heard a strong sound outside, apparently as a result of the collision, and they rushed towards the door to find out what happened.
As soon as one of them opened the door, the attacker surprised him with bullets, so he and those with him retreated, and the attacker started shooting indiscriminately, until one of the security forces managed to control him.
The Iranian police managed to arrest the attacker and are currently under investigation.
The official Iranian version of the motives
The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, stated that “the motives for the attack are personal,” and explained in detail:
- The attacker alleged that his wife had checked into the embassy in March and had not returned home.
- He checked with the embassy many times without getting an answer.
- He thought that his wife was in the embassy building and did not want to meet him, so today he decided to attack the embassy with a Kalashnikov rifle that he had prepared for this purpose.
- The man filed a case in West Azerbaijan Province in Iran, regarding his wife, who holds Azeri citizenship.
- Investigations showed that his wife returned to Azerbaijan, so the case was closed, but the man did not stop raising the issue.
Official Iranian commentary
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on the embassy.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the family of the Azerbaijani embassy employee who was killed.
Expressing his condolences to the government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he said, “The police and security forces immediately intervened and arrested the perpetrator, who is currently being questioned.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hossein Abdollahian offered his Azeri counterpart a joint investigation into the attack.
Azeri responses
However, this version did not seem to convince Baku, as it spoke of previous threats against its embassy and Tehran’s involvement in incitement against it.
In the most prominent reaction in Azerbaijan to the attack, its president condemned Ilham Aliyevthe attack on his country’s embassy in Tehran, describing it as a “terrorist.”
Aliyev called for a quick investigation with the “terrorist” and punishment, stressing that “terrorism against our diplomatic missions is unacceptable.”
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iran’s ambassador to Baku, Abbas Mousavi, and announced the withdrawal of its diplomats and their families from Tehran.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry informed the Iranian diplomat of its “strong protest” over the attack on the country’s embassy in Tehran.
And it said in a statement posted on its website: “Iran, as the country in which the embassy is located, is responsible under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to ensure the security of the embassy and the safety of its employees.”
She stated that there had been attempts in the past to threaten her diplomatic mission in Tehran, noting that she had repeatedly raised the matter with the Iranian authorities to take the necessary measures.
And she continued, “But unfortunately, the bloody terrorist attack shows the dire consequences of not responding to our urgent appeals in this direction.”
She said that the campaign against her, which was launched in Iran, led to such an attack against her diplomatic mission.
And the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry decided to withdraw its diplomatic staff from Tehran with their families, as a result of the “terrorist attack.”
How are the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan?
In general, the relations between the two countries have been cool for a long time, for several reasons:
- Dispute over border areas.
- Iran aligned with Armenia in the dispute with Azerbaijan.
- Iran has 25 million ethnic Azeri, and tends to secede from Iran.
- Rapprochement between Turkey and Azerbaijan at the expense of Iran.
- It got to the point that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard sometimes mobilized its fighters on the border with Azerbaijan.
- Tehran is apprehensive about the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel, which is an important supplier of weapons to Baku.
- You think that Tel Aviv might use the Azeri lands to move against it.