Azerbaijan reopens its embassy in Iran as the two countries try to ease tensions

TEHRAN, Iran -- The embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran resumed its work Monday after more than a year of negotiations between the two countries to ease tensions, media reports said.

An official at the embassy told The Associated Press that it had resumed operations but the formal announcement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry was still pending. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't allowed to discuss the matter publicly.

The Azeri website news.az om Monday quoted Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry as saying that its embassy in Iran had started work at a new address in Tehran. The report said that the embassy reopened following negotiations between the two governments.

Relations between Tehran and Baku soured after a gunman in January 2023 stormed Azerbaijan’s Embassy, killing its security chief and wounding two guards.

Iran said the attack was a personal dispute after the gunman’s wife disappeared on a visit to the embassy, but Azeri President Ilham Aliyev called it a “terrorist attack.” Baku accused Tehran of supporting hard-line Islamists who tried to overthrow its government, a charge Tehran denied.

In April 2023, Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats. A month later, Iran expelled four Azeri diplomats.

Azerbaijan's decision in March 2023 to open an embassy in Israel, Iran's archenemy, also contributed to the deterioration in ties.

Azerbaijan borders Iran’s northwest and was part of the Persian Empire until the early 19th century. There are also over 12 million ethnic Azeris in Iran who represent the Islamic Republic’s largest minority group.

The countries' relations had improved under the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May after inaugurating a dam on the border together with Aliyev. At the ceremony, Raisi said the relationship between Tehran and Baku went beyond neighboring and was “unbreakable.”