France condemns deadly attack on Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – France has condemned Friday’s attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran’s capital Tehran, saying any assault on diplomatic sites and diplomats is “unacceptable.”

“We offer the families of the victims our condolences,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“We call on the Iranian authorities, who are responsible for protecting foreign diplomatic sites and diplomats within their country, to shed light on this attack.”

An assailant armed with an automatic weapon stormed the embassy building at around 8.30 a.m. local time (0500GMT) on Friday morning.

The head of the embassy’s security services was killed in the attack, while two security guards at the entrance were injured.

The attacker was immediately arrested, Tehran’s police chief Hossein Rahimi later told reporters, saying preliminary investigations point to “personal and family-related problems” as a possible motive.