Today, Tuesday, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned its citizens against traveling to Iran, following the attack that targeted its embassy in Tehran last Friday, killing one person and wounding two others.
The ministry issued a statement calling on its citizens to avoid visiting Iran unless necessary, given the "unstable" situation in the Islamic Republic and what it described as a "terrorist attack" on its diplomatic mission in Tehran.
It also called on its citizens visiting Iran to exercise caution and observe safety and security rules.
Khalaf Khalaf, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, had announced earlier the evacuation of all employees of the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran and the complete suspension of the diplomatic mission in Tehran, while keeping 5 people there in connection with the protection of the administrative building and the embassy's property.
The embassy said that it evacuated its headquarters from employees and their family members and those injured in the armed attack that took place last Friday, which resulted in the death of the embassy security official and the wounding of two guards, and held Iran responsible for the attack, and demanded a comprehensive and transparent investigation.
The employees of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and their families arrived at the airport of the capital, Baku, and the coffin of the embassy's security official, Orhan Askarov, who was killed in the attack.
The plane was received at the airport by Khalaf Khalaf, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and other officials from the Ministry.
Khalaf told reporters - upon receiving the plane at Baku Airport - that the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran was a terrorist act, noting that "Baku did not expect the occurrence of such an unacceptable attack," stressing that every country is responsible for securing Foreign embassies on their territory under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Azeri official held Iran responsible for the attack, and demanded that it conduct a "comprehensive and transparent investigation, punish the criminals, and identify the forces behind them."
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, had considered the attack on his country's embassy in Iran a "terrorist act", calling for an urgent investigation and punishment for the perpetrator.
The attack occurred in the midst of growing tensions between the two neighboring countries over the way Iran treats its large Azeri minority, and over Azerbaijan's decision in January to appoint its first ambassador to Israel.