Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran suspends operation after deadly shooting

“We have completely suspended the embassy’s diplomatic activities,” he said, adding that five embassy employees are staying in Tehran to protect the building and the embassy’s property.

“But they will not be engaged in diplomatic activities,” he explained.

According to the diplomat, Azerbaijan’s consulate general in Tabriz will continue to operate routinely.

A plane with the evacuated personnel of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran landed in Baku on Sunday evening. This decision followed the January 27 attack on the country’s embassy in Tehran, killing a security officer and wounding two more.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev described the incident as a terror attack and demanded a thorough investigation of the incident and “punishment of the terrorists.”

Police in Tehran have announced they had arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned the tragic incident, but stressed that the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive.

Iranian officials have strongly condemned the attack, expressing condolences to the family of the victim and to the Azerbaijani government and people.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered a thorough investigation into the attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has noted the enemies should not be allowed to take advantage of the incident, which he stated was not an act of terrorism.