Iran lost 1.8 million Azerbaijani tourists following embassy attack

In a stark admission of the diplomatic fallout from the January 2023 attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Anoushirvan Mohseni, revealed that the country lost approximately 1.8 million Azerbaijani tourists as a direct consequence.

Speaking at a press briefing, Mohseni stated, “Due to the incident at the Azerbaijani embassy, we lost 1.8 million tourists from Azerbaijan.”

Mohseni Bandpey added that prior to the coronavirus pandemic, between March 20, 2019 and March 20, 2020, the number of foreign tourists visiting Iran amounted to 9.8 million.

It is worth noting the attack, which occurred on January 27, 2023, at around 8:30 a.m. Baku time, involved an armed assailant wielding a Kalashnikov rifle who breached the embassy’s security post. The attacker fatally shot Chief of Security Orkhan Asgarov and wounded two other guards, Vasif Taghiyev and Mahir Imanov, who attempted to stop the assault.

Following the incident, Azerbaijan suspended operations at its Tehran embassy and evacuated staff and their families to Baku on January 29. The State Security Service of Azerbaijan launched a criminal investigation under relevant articles of the nation’s penal code.

Orkhan Asgarov was laid to rest at the Second Alley of Martyrs in Baku. On February 3, 2023, President Ilham Aliyev posthumously awarded him the “For the Motherland” medal. Taghiyev received the First Degree “Valor” Order, while Imanov was also honored with the “For the Motherland” medal.

After prolonged diplomatic negotiations, the Azerbaijani embassy resumed operations at a new location in Tehran on July 15, 2024, with the ambassador and staff returning to Iran.

The perpetrator, Yasin Huseynzadeh, was tried over a two-year period. Iran’s Ministry of Justice announced his death sentence, which was upheld by the Supreme Court. The sentence was carried out on the morning of May 21, 2025.