A person armed with a Kalashnikov-style rifle stormed the Azerbaijan embassy in Iran’s capital, killing the top of safety on the diplomatic put up and wounding two guards, authorities have mentioned.

Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Rahimi, blamed the assault on “personal and family problems”, based on Iranian state tv.

However, the assault comes as tensions have been excessive for months between neighbouring Azerbaijan and Iran.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry mentioned it will evacuate its diplomatic mission, accusing Iran of not taking reported threats towards it critically previously.

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities changed Gen Rahimi as police chief hours later after footage emerged that appeared to point out a police officer doing nothing to cease the assault.

Video purportedly from the scene of the assault confirmed an empty diplomatic police put up close to the embassy, with one man apparently wounded in an SUV parked exterior.

Inside the embassy previous a steel detector, paramedics stood over what gave the impression to be a dull physique in a small workplace as blood pooled on the ground beneath.

A press release from Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry mentioned that “an investigation is currently under way into this treacherous attack”.

The ministry additionally described the attacker as destroying a guard put up with assault rifle fireplace earlier than being stopped by the wounded guards, whom authorities described as being in a “satisfactory” situation after being shot.

However, the ministry mentioned a “recent anti-Azerbaijani campaign against our country in Iran has encouraged such attacks against our diplomatic mission”.

“There have been attempts to threaten our diplomatic mission in Iran before, and measures to prevent such situations and to ensure the safety of our diplomatic missions have been constantly raised before Iran,” the ministry mentioned.

“Unfortunately, the last bloody terrorist attack demonstrates the serious consequences of not showing proper sensitivity to our urgent appeals in this direction.”

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev referred to as the assault a “terrorist act”.

“A terrorist attack against diplomatic missions is unacceptable!” he mentioned in an announcement.

Iranian state TV had quoted Gen Rahimi as saying the gunman had entered the embassy together with his two youngsters through the assault.

However, surveillance footage from contained in the embassy launched in Azerbaijan, which matched particulars of the opposite video of the aftermath and bore a timestamp matching the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry’s assertion, confirmed the gunman burst by the embassy’s doorways alone.

Those inside tried to push by steel detectors to take cowl.

The man opens fireplace with the rifle, its muzzle flashing, as he chases after the boys into the small aspect workplace.

Another man bursts from a aspect door and fights the gunman for the rifle because the footage ends.

Another surveillance video from exterior the embassy which additionally corresponded to the identical particulars confirmed the gunman slam his automotive into one other in entrance of the embassy.

The gunman then received out and levelled his rifle at a determine contained in the Iranian police stand, most likely a police guard, who stood nonetheless and did nothing as the person stormed the embassy.

Associated Press journalists noticed the embassy’s entrance door pocked with bullet holes after the assault.

Iranian prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari reportedly mentioned that the gunman’s spouse had disappeared in April after a go to to the embassy.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan information company quoted Mr Shahriari as saying the gunman believed his spouse was nonetheless within the embassy on the time of the assault – despite the fact that it was some eight months later.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani additionally mentioned his nation strongly condemned the assault, which was beneath investigation with “high priority and sensitivity”.

Azerbaijan borders Iran’s north-west.

There have been tensions between the 2 nations as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.

Iran in October launched a army train close to the Azerbaijan border, flexing its martial would possibly amid the nationwide protests rocking the Islamic Republic.

Azerbaijan additionally maintains shut ties to Israel, which Tehran views as its prime regional enemy.

The Islamic Republic and Israel are locked in an ongoing shadow conflict as Iran’s nuclear programme quickly enriches uranium nearer than ever to weapons-grade ranges.

Turkey, which has shut ties to Azerbaijan, condemned the assault, referred to as for the perpetrators to be dropped at justice and for measures to be put in place to forestall related assaults sooner or later.

Turkey has backed Azerbaijan towards Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Turkey, which has been subjected to similar attacks in the past, deeply shares the pain of the Azerbaijani people,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry assertion mentioned.

“Brotherly Azerbaijan is not alone. Our support to Azerbaijan will continue without interruption, as it always has.”