Azerbaijan Evacuates Its Diplomatic Staff from Iran Following Drone Attack

SadaNews - The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday the evacuation of its diplomatic staff from neighboring Iran, a day after a drone attack targeted the Nakhchivan exclave.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that "Azerbaijan is evacuating its diplomatic staff from Iran, a procedure that includes the embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Tabriz."

Azerbaijan accused Iran on Thursday of launching a drone attack on the Nakhchivan exclave, which resulted in injuries to four people, and vowed to respond.

However, Iran denied responsibility, with its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accusing Israel of launching drones at Azerbaijan "to harm the good relations" between the two countries.

Bayramov clarified that he discussed the incident "seriously" during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, and that "the Iranian side promised to conduct a thorough investigation, and we are waiting for the results."

Iran had previously expressed concerns that Israel, a close ally of Azerbaijan and its main arms supplier, might use Azerbaijan's territory to launch attacks on it.

During the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, Baku assured Tehran that it would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks on "third countries, including Iran, a friendly nation."

Iran has long feared the separatist sentiments among the Azerbaijani minority, which constitutes about ten million people out of a total population of 83 million in Iran.