(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 30. The
terrorist attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran on January
27, 2023, incurred the severest condemnation of the world
community, trend reports.
As a result of the armed attack, one embassy employee
was killed and two were injured. The culprit of the incident is
Yasin Huseynzade, an Iranian citizen, and, according to the foreign
media, there are suspicions that he is connected with the special
services of Iran, primarily with the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps].
If the embassy guards had not stopped the attack, all
embassy employees were planned to be killed. The police in the area
have not made any attempts to prevent the terrorist attack, and
currently, no operational actions are being taken.
This is not the first time that foreign embassies have
been attacked in Iran. Even before that, there were attacks on
embassies, consulates, international missions, and foreign
citizens. What is happening requires effective steps by the
international community to prevent such incidents in the
future.
As Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov
told reporters yesterday, Iran is responsible for the terrorist
attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran.
'According to the relevant articles of the Vienna
Convention, the country in which the embassy is located is
responsible for security. Iran as a host state is responsible for
the terrorist act and its grave consequences,' said the deputy
FM.
'We have repeatedly brought to the attention of the
Iranian side that there are threats to the diplomatic
representation of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the territory of
Iran. We demanded that Iran strengthen security measures. The
incident shows that Iran reacted irresponsibly to this, and as a
result, this terrorist act was committed,' the deputy minister
added.
According to Khalafov, Azerbaijan intends to implement
appropriate international mechanisms to investigate the terrorist
attack on the embassy in Tehran.
Speaking about the importance of the prompt
investigation of what has happened, American analyst Irina
Zuckerman told trend that the issue requires diplomatic
intervention.
“In 2016, when the Saudi Embassy was attacked in Iran,
a number of countries broke off diplomatic relations with Iran, and
some still not have formally restored them. The reason for that was
not just merely poor security but because elements of the Iranian
government played a part in organized attacks. Iran is a
surveillance state; it is simply impossible for something like that
to happen without the authorities being aware and giving approval
or even planning involvement. I think given the obviously growing
hostilities against Azerbaijan by the Iranian government - and the
other provocations that have done nothing but escalate tensions, it
may be wise to evacuate the embassy for the time being and make it
virtual and downgrade diplomatic relations to send a political
message to Tehran,” she said.
Zuckerman noted that of course, all efforts should be
made to demand accountability for this incident which is only
likely to repeat if met with impunity.
“Let's recall that when the Baku Embassy in London was
attacked by an extremist group it was rumored that they had links
to Iran as well. If that is the case, this is not just an isolated
incident but part of a pattern, which is particularly disturbing
since Iran has also been accused of masterminding attacks on former
officials and critics in other countries,” the analyst added.
Peter Tase, US expert, and strategic adviser on
international affairs and public diplomacy to governments,
universities, and corporations in Europe and the Americas told
Trend that the terrorist attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy must be
condemned with the maximum level of resilience and EU, US must
impose economic sanctions against the political elite of
Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported
with weapons and unmanned air vehicles the terrorist regime of
Armenia. Tehran is the main sponsor of Armenian armed attacks
inside the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. In front of these
blatant actions, the international community including the UN and
OSCE has not condemned the malign, warmongering efforts of the
Iranian terrorist regime in the South Caucasus and Eurasia. It is a
fact that Iran is not anymore a regional player, indeed its
theocratic government has become a threat and source of terrorist
operations on both sides of the Atlantic. The terrible attack
against the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran is a major terrorist
attack, this brutal action must be condemned with the maximum level
of resilience, and the EU and US must impose economic sanctions
against the political elite of Tehran,” he said.
Tase pointed out that for over 30 years Iran has
financed terrorist operations and financial services that directly
benefit Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and their
political aspirations.
“This attack against Azerbaijan happens only a few
hours after the US Department of State announced serious actions
and financial sanctions against the current Vice President of
Paraguay Hugo Adalberto Velázquez Moreno for his deep ties and
strong alliance with Hezbollah and other criminal organizations in
the Middle East, and serious sanctions are imposed by the US
Department of the Treasury against Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara
(former president of Paraguay, 2013-2018) for his money laundering
activities that have directly supported Iran and its terrorist
allies in the region. Actions of this magnitude must continue
against the ruthless regime of Tehran,” said the US expert.
He noted that the order of closing of Iranian Embassy
in Tirana, Republic of Albania, in September 2022, is another
important action taken towards reducing the malign influence of
Iran and assuring that the Ayatollahs do not expand their terrorist
operations in the South Caucasus.
“The recent attack against the Embassy of Azerbaijan,
must be condemned and unbridled actions should be taken until the
warmongers of Tehran are down to their knees,” said Peter Tase.
Richard Hoagland, the former co-chair of the former
OSCE Minsk Group from the US offered sincere condolences to the
family of the killed head of the security service.
“Unfortunately, terrorist attacks against embassies
can happen anywhere in the world, and the job of an embassy guard
is extremely dangerous. Preparation and prevention are the best
defenses. It is also essential for the embassy to have close
relations with the host country's security forces and to ensure
that the best defenses are in place. But the sad truth is that
terrorists will strike -- that's the sad reality of our current
world,” he said.
Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza told
Trend that if the Iranian government stands behind this terrorist
attack, it means a serious diplomatic crisis between the two
countries.
“At this point, not enough is known to assess whether
the Government of Iran is somehow complicit with this attack,
though senior sources in the Azerbaijani government are suggesting
this is the case, which would mean Azerbaijan and Iran have entered
a serious diplomatic and security crisis. If this murderer was
acting independently of the Government of Iran, however, the
situation would be quite different,” he explained.
At the moment, the terrorist attack is being
investigated. But the Iranian side is spreading fake versions
regarding the motives of the armed attack on the diplomatic
mission, and these versions are also repeated by the Tehran police
and other responsible persons, which raises many questions. In a
statement, the Tehran police said that the attacker came to the
embassy with two children and that the killer was looking for his
wife, who was 'hiding' in the embassy. But the footage of the
moment of the attack also proves that the statements from the
Iranian side are false. The attacker was not with children, as said
by the Iranian side, he was alone and intended to kill all the
embassy staff.
The attack on Azerbaijan's diplomatic mission is a
continuation of Iran's long-standing anti-Azerbaijani hysteria and
escalation policy. It is obvious that all these provocations are
nothing but instructions from the Iranian authorities and special
services themselves. The statements from the Iranian side are lies
and are aimed at distracting attention from a terrorist who has
some links with the Iranian special services.