DUBAI: A security official was killed and two people were wounded after a shooter opened fire at Azerbaijan‘s embassy in Iran, police said on Friday, in an attack that Baku has called an “act of terrorism”.
“The attacker broke through the guard post, killing the head of security with a Kalashnikov assault rifle,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said.
Video posted on social media appeared to show a gunman forcing his way into the embassy building and firing through a door.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani “strongly condemned” the attack, according to state TV, saying the issue was under investigation.
Police in Tehran said they have arrested a suspect and are investigating the gunman’s motive.
The superintendent of criminal affairs in Tehran, Judge Mohammad Shahriari, said the attacker’s motive was personal, according to the Tasnim news agency.
He quotes the assailant as saying his wife went to the Azerbaijan embassy in Tehran and never returned home.
When the assailant contacted the embassy he never got an answer and believed his wife was inside the embassy. Iran’s police chief said on television that the man’s wife is from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday that the attack was “an act of terrorism” and demanded swift punishment.
“I firmly condemn the act of terrorism carried out at the embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran,” Aliyev said on Twitter.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it would soon evacuate its staff from the embassy in response.
There were no indications from statements from Iranian officials that the attack was politically motivated.
But Iran’s ties with Azerbaijan have been tense at times. Azerbaijan appointed its first ever ambassador to Israel this month amid escalating tensions with its large southern neighbour Iran.
Israel has had an embassy in Baku since the early 1990s and has been a significant military backer of Azerbaijan in recent years, including diplomatic support for Baku in its standoff with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“The attacker broke through the guard post, killing the head of security with a Kalashnikov assault rifle,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said.
Video posted on social media appeared to show a gunman forcing his way into the embassy building and firing through a door.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani “strongly condemned” the attack, according to state TV, saying the issue was under investigation.
Police in Tehran said they have arrested a suspect and are investigating the gunman’s motive.
The superintendent of criminal affairs in Tehran, Judge Mohammad Shahriari, said the attacker’s motive was personal, according to the Tasnim news agency.
He quotes the assailant as saying his wife went to the Azerbaijan embassy in Tehran and never returned home.
When the assailant contacted the embassy he never got an answer and believed his wife was inside the embassy. Iran’s police chief said on television that the man’s wife is from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday that the attack was “an act of terrorism” and demanded swift punishment.
“I firmly condemn the act of terrorism carried out at the embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran,” Aliyev said on Twitter.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it would soon evacuate its staff from the embassy in response.
There were no indications from statements from Iranian officials that the attack was politically motivated.
But Iran’s ties with Azerbaijan have been tense at times. Azerbaijan appointed its first ever ambassador to Israel this month amid escalating tensions with its large southern neighbour Iran.
Israel has had an embassy in Baku since the early 1990s and has been a significant military backer of Azerbaijan in recent years, including diplomatic support for Baku in its standoff with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.