A person was killed in an armed attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran | News

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry says a guard was killed in the attack.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a guard was killed in an armed attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

“The attacker breached the guard post and killed the chief of security with a Kalashnikov,” it added.

The ministry added that Friday’s attack also wounded two guards. An investigation has been opened.

Police in Tehran said they have arrested a suspect and are investigating the motive behind the attack.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, quoting the police chief, said the suspect entered the embassy with two young children and may have been motivated by “personal issues”.

However, surveillance footage released by Iran’s state-owned Press TV news agency showed what appeared to be the gunman entering the embassy alone and firing inside the building, before scuffled with a man trying to stop him.

Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency quoted Iran’s public prosecutor, Mohammad Shahriari, as saying the gunman’s wife disappeared in April after a visit to the embassy. Shahriari added that the man believed his wife was still in the embassy at the time of the attack, some eight months later.

Turkey, which has close ties to Azerbaijan, condemned the “treacherous attack” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. “Azerbaijan is never alone,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter and sent his condolences to the victim’s relatives.

Relations between Baku and Tehran have traditionally been tense, as Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, Iran’s historical rival.

Iran, home to millions of Azerbaijanis, has long accused Baku of fomenting separatist sentiments in its territory.

Iran is also suspicious of Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with Israel – a major arms supplier to Baku – saying Tel Aviv could use Azerbaijani territory as a bridge against Iran.