Afrigather - An assault on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran is weighing on relations between the 2 nations.
- Azerbaijan briefly suspended its operations on the embassy following the assault.
- The incident follows a lot of different current disagreements between Baku and Tehran.
A gunman stormed the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran on January 27, killing one guard and wounding two others. Iran stated the assault was motivated by private causes, however Baku described it as a “terrorist assault.”
The incident led Azerbaijan to temporarily suspend its operations at its embassy in Tehran and evacuate its workers from the nation. Iranian media stated the attacker, who was arrested, was an Iranian man married to an Azerbaijani girl. The attacker was quoted as saying that his spouse disappeared after getting into the Azerbaijani Embassy.
Why It Issues: The incident has additional strained relations between the neighbors, who’ve a historical past of tensions. Azerbaijan has lengthy been suspicious of Iran’s ties with Armenia, Baku’s archenemy. In the meantime, Tehran has more and more expressed concern about Azerbaijan’s deepening relations with Israel, Tehran’s regional foe. Earlier this month, Baku appointed its first-ever ambassador to Israel, which is a significant arms provider to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has additionally lengthy complained of Iran’s alleged mistreatment of its sizable ethnic Azeri minority. Tehran has accused Baku of fomenting separatist sentiment within the Islamic republic.
Analyst Habib Hosseinifard informed RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that the embassy assault has led to an “overflow” of tensions.
“Iran claims a few of Israel’s actions towards the nation are organized from inside Azerbaijan. As well as, Iran additionally accuses Azerbaijan of inciting the nation’s Azeri minority, whereas Baku accuses Tehran of strengthening extremist Shi’ite teams inside Azerbaijan. All of those have elevated tensions, notably previously two years,” he stated.
What’s Subsequent: Because the embassy assault, Iran has tried to ease tensions with Azerbaijan. However Baku seems to have upped the ante by asserting on January 31 the arrests of what it stated had been seven members of an Iranian spy network in Azerbaijan.
In the meantime, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Overseas Minister Khalaf Khalafov stated in a January 31 assertion that “suspension of a diplomatic mission’s operations in any nation is a severe matter” and that Baku has let Tehran know that “we don’t belief Iran with respect to making sure the safety of our embassy’s staff.”
The assertion got here days after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi informed Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in a cellphone name that “the governments of Iran and Azerbaijan is not going to permit bilateral relations to be affected by the strategies of those that want ailing on the 2 nations,” in accordance with the Iranian authorities’s web site.
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A bunch of Iranian lawmakers have submitted a draft bill to curb “unprofessional feedback” posted on social media by influential figures, together with celebrities. The proposed laws prescribes jail phrases of as much as 15 years and fines for these discovered responsible. Supporters of the draft invoice have stated it is going to punish those that undermine nationwide safety. However critics have labeled it the “suffocation bill.”
What’s Subsequent: The proposed laws is an try by the authorities to additional crack down on dissent amid ongoing anti-regime protests which have rocked the nation since September. The demonstrations are the largest risk to the clerical regime in years.
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By RFE/RL
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