Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday blamed India and Syria for supporting Iran’s efforts to prevent the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) from condemning the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran last month.
Azerbaijan’s Accusations
The ministry noted that New Delhi and Damascus’ positions contradict the international community’s response, as over 100 countries and several organisations condemned the attack. Moreover, it said that India and Syria are the only two countries refusing to condemn Iran among the 120 members of NAM.
Bu gün, #Azərbaycan Respublikasının #İran İslam Respublikasındakı Səfirliyinə @AzEmbIran terror hücumu nəticəsində şəhid olmuş Orxan Əsgərov son mənzilə yola salınıb.
— MFA Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (@AzerbaijanMFA) January 30, 2023
Şəhidimiz II Fəxri Xiyabanda dəfn olunub.🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿
Allah şəhidimizə rəhmət eləsin! Dövlətimiz daim var olsun! pic.twitter.com/ADAQOoVwa3
Baku stated that New Delhi and Damascus have claimed that NAM does not condemn terrorist attacks in individual countries. However, the ministry countered by claiming that on many occasions, NAM has adopted documents condemning terror attacks on member states and called for the protection of diplomatic missions.
Moreover, the ministry accused Iran of trying to “prevent the terror attack from being widely exposed at the international level,” especially in organisations in which it is a member.
The Attack
On 27 January, an Iranian gunman stormed the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and shot at civilians, killing a security guard and wounding two others. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other top officials condemned the incident, calling it a “terrorist attack.”
Surveillance video shows the moment of a deadly armed attack inside Azerbaijan's embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran. A security guard and two other people were wounded in the attack https://t.co/SP14Qf6e1r pic.twitter.com/P2J6SoLnvV
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 27, 2023
Days later, Azerbaijan evacuated most of its staff from the embassy and closed the mission’s operations indefinitely. On Tuesday, the Ministry released a travel warning urging Azerbaijani citizens against visiting Iran due to the “unstable situation,” referring to the anti-regime protests, and the embassy attack.
Iran has denied claims that the shooter was a terrorist, saying that the individual was motivated by personal reasons.
Azerbaijan-Iran Tensions
Iran has traditionally allied with Azerbaijan’s arch-rival Armenia and reportedly supported Yerevan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Tehran accuses Baku of supporting Israel and secretly hosting an Israeli military base.
Tensions escalated in 2021, when Aliyev condemned Iran for conducting massive military drills near the countries’ border and preventing Iranian trucks from passing through Nagorno-Karabakh. Last year, Azerbaijan said it arrested 19 people for spying on behalf of Iran.
Ties with India
Although New Delhi and Baku maintain diplomatic relations, the two countries support their regional rivals. India has accused Azerbaijan of supporting Pakistan and, in turn, backed Armenia, including with weapons.
Azerbaijan is also a close ally of Turkey, which has repeatedly backed Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.