Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov announced on Friday that the government had ordered the evacuation of staff from the country’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate general in Tabriz.
Speaking at a news conference in Baku, Bayramov said the decision was taken on the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev as security concerns mount.
Azerbaijan says it is evacuating its diplomats from Iran for their own safety, after tensions rose following a reported drone incursion near its Nakhchivan exclave.
The move followed a drone incident near the Nakhchivan exclave that injured four people.
“On the orders of President Ilham Aliyev, instructions have been given to evacuate our embassy in Tehran and the consulate general in Tabriz from Iran, and these instructions are already being implemented. We cannot put the lives of our people at risk,” he said.
The move comes a day after Azerbaijan said four Iranian drones crossed its border into the Nakhchivan exclave, injuring four people. Baku strongly condemned the incident, while Iran denied launching the drones.
President Aliyev has warned that Azerbaijan could retaliate over what it described as a violation of its territory.
Relations between the two neighbours have long been strained, in part due to Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel, which has drawn criticism from Tehran.
Although both countries share a majority Shi’ite Muslim population, Azerbaijan maintains a secular government and has often clashed with Iran over regional influence and security concerns.
Goodness Anunobi
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