The attack on the Azerbaijani embassy is a terrorist act – Latvian military expert

“The terrorist act committed on January 27 on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran is a consequence of tension between the two Muslim states. Undoubtedly, the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy is a terrorist act,” military expert, former senior officer of the Latvian Armed Forces Einars Graudins told Vzglyad.az.

He stated that it is impossible to commit a terrorist attack in the capital of Iran against another sovereign state (and the embassy is the territory of a foreign state) without the consent of the authorities.

“Here it is necessary to disclose whether the attack was committed with the tacit consent or an active participation of the authorities in the terrorist attack. Iran actively supports Russia in its aggression against Ukraine by supplying offensive weapons.

In this situation, Azerbaijan holds a neutral position, but tries to stop the war in Ukraine by all means through the mechanism of the strategic partnership agreement. While this is a matter of settling Russia’s aggression against Ukraine for Azerbaijan, for Iran it is a matter of expanding its geopolitical borders and interests. 

Besides, it is a big business for Iran, since Russia pays for the supply of Iranian weapons. In addition, Iran is interested in Russian nuclear technologies, and this already poses a threat to the whole world,” the expert added.

Graudins also underlined that currently there is a close cooperation between Azerbaijan, Turkey and Israel.

“The latter country is Iran’s mortal enemy. Naturally, Iran is extremely negative about the rising Turkish authority and influence in the region. Due to the fact that Azerbaijan liberated the territories previously occupied by Armenia, a situation arises in which there is a corridor connecting Baku with Nakhchivan. This changes the illegal financial flows of Iran in a negative direction. During the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Iran used the territories to transit  drugs and weapons.

The military success of Azerbaijan in 2020 has put an end to the illicit drug and weapons transit, in which Iran is extremely interested. As a result of this, an attack occurs on the Azerbaijani embassy. The embassy is primarily a symbol of the state. With this terrorist act, Iran demonstrated its attitude towards Azerbaijan, Turkey and Israel,” the expert said.