Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that "personal motives" were behind the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran on Friday, while Azerbaijan's ambassador to Tehran Ali Alizadeh described the attack as "terrorist."
Abdullahian expressed his deep regret over this attack, and said - during a press conference he held with the Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran - that they are working to send the body of the dead diplomat to Azerbaijan and to ensure that the wounded recover as soon as possible.
Abdollahian indicated that Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi issued categorical instructions to seriously investigate the incident, stressing that the attacker was arrested by Iranian security forces and was interrogated.
He added that measures will be taken to punish the perpetrator, stressing that "we must not allow the relations between the two countries to be damaged by third countries that use this attack as an excuse."
Similar incidents
Abdollahian said that for the security forces, the method of the operation confirms that the attack was not "an act of terrorism, but of personal motives similar to what happened to our diplomats in London, Beijing and Iraq."
For his part, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Tehran said that they lost one of their employees and two others were wounded in the attack on the embassy.
Alizadeh described the attack as a "terrorist act," and saw the attack as "a step to harm Azerbaijani-Iranian relations, and we expect the perpetrators to receive the necessary punishment."
And yesterday, Friday, the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran was subjected to an armed attack, which led to the death of the embassy security official and the wounding of two guards, and Iran announced the arrest of its perpetrator.
Abdullahian (left) and the Azerbaijani ambassador during the joint press conference (Reuters)
hostile campaign
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said that the "anti-Azerbaijani campaign" in Iran contributed to this attack.
In a strongly worded statement, the ministry accused Iran of ignoring Baku's calls to enhance security at its embassy in Tehran for a long time.
"Unfortunately, the bloody terrorist act shows the serious consequences of not paying due attention to our continuous appeals in this regard," she added, noting that Baku summoned the Iranian ambassador against the background of the armed attack.
The ministry said it plans to evacuate its embassy staff in Tehran, following the attack that targeted it on Friday morning.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov described the attack as a "treacherous terrorist," stressing that the perpetrators and those who ordered it must be punished as soon as possible.