Azerbaijan embassy's security head shot dead in Tehran attack

TEHRAN – A top security official of the Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran was shot dead by gunman in an attack the mission office on Friday.

As the Iran claimed the attack was motivated by personal reasons, the Azerbaijan has termed it a terrorist attack and held Tehran responsible for it.

Videos of the incident posted on social media show two men parking a car and entering the mission office in Tehran and later a speeding car approaches and collided in their vehicle. A man can been seen holding a gun emerged from the car and entered the building and gunned down the security head identified as First Lieutenant Orkhan Rizvan.

Watch: A surveillance video from outside #Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran shows the moment the gunman arrived ahead of opening fire inside the building. #Iranhttps://t.co/cDLvylIirq pic.twitter.com/9eb9Isz0RB

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 27, 2023

In a statement, the Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the treacherous terror attack against the embassy in Iran.

 “As the country where the embassy is located, the Iranian side had to fulfill its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to ensure the security of the embassy and safety of its employees,” read the official statement.

It also highlighted that there had been attempts to threaten the diplomatic mission in Iran in past, adding that “it was constantly raised before Iran to take measures to prevent such cases, and to ensure the safety of our diplomatic missions”.

“We strongly demand Iran to identify and punish the perpetrators of the mentioned terrorist attack, as well as the instigators of this bloody act as soon as possible in the most severe manner,” the ministry said.

“It is planned to take appropriate measures to evacuate the employees of the Embassy, and their family members, in current situation resulted from the terrorist attack.”

Meanwhile, Tehran’s police chief General Hossein Rahimi said the gunman involved in the attack had been arrested. He revealed that the suspect was an Iranian man, who married to an Azerbaijani woman.

The attacker claimed that his wife had been held at the embassy for nine months.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Tehran strongly condemned the attack, adding that the attack was motivated by person reasons.