A guard is killed and two others injured by a man armed with an assault rifle, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
A guard was killed in an attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran, the country’s foreign ministry said.
“The attacker broke through the guard post, killing the security chief with a Kalashnikov assault rifle,” he said.
Friday’s attack in Tehran also injured two guards, the Azerbaijani ministry said. An investigation has been launched.
President Ilham Aliyev called the assault on his country’s embassy a «terrorist act» and demanded a prompt investigation.
«We demand that this terrorist act be investigated and that the terrorist be punished,» Aliyev said in a statement. He added that an attack on a diplomatic mission was «unacceptable».
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani «strongly condemned» the attack, according to state television, saying the matter was under investigation.
Tehran police said they arrested a suspect and are investigating the shooter’s motive.
There is no indication in statements by Iranian officials that the attack was politically motivated.
The suspect entered the embassy with two children and may have been driven by «personal problems», Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing the police chief.
However, surveillance footage shared by Iranian state news outlet Press TV showed what appeared to be the gunman entering the embassy alone and firing inside the building before scuffling with a man who attempted to stop it.
Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan quoted Iranian prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari as saying the shooter’s wife disappeared in April after a visit to the embassy. Shahriari added that the man believed his wife was still at the embassy at the time of the attack.
Turkey, which has close ties with Azerbaijan, condemned the «treacherous attack» and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. «Azerbaijan is never alone,» Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.
Relations between Baku and Tehran have traditionally been sour because Turkish-speaking Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, Iran’s historic rival.
Iran, home to millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis, has long accused Baku of fomenting separatist sentiments in the country.
Iran is also wary of Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with Israel, an arms supplier to Baku, saying Israel could potentially use Azerbaijani territory as a beachhead against Iran.