Azerbaijan pulls diplomatic mission from Iran amid rising tensions

Shafaq News- Baku

Azerbaijan is withdrawing all diplomatic personnel from Iran due to security concerns, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov announced on Friday, a day after Baku reported that four Iranian drones crossed the border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave.

During a press conference in Baku, Bayramov indicated that President Ilham Aliyev ordered the evacuation following recent developments, adding that staff at Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate general in Tabriz have received instructions to depart, and the process is already underway.

Aliyev previously directed the Azerbaijani military to prepare response options after authorities accused Iran of carrying out a drone strike on Azerbaijani territory. The president described the incident as an “unjustified and aggressive act” and argued that the attack would remain a lasting “stain” on Iran’s record.

Iran’s General Staff, however, denied sending drones toward Azerbaijan and has repeatedly rejected accusations that Iranian missiles or unmanned aircraft targeted civilian infrastructure during the ongoing conflict.