Baku has summoned Iran’s ambassador in objection to a note of protest alleging that media in Azerbaijan were disseminating anti-Iranian reports.
Iran delivered the note of protest to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on April 2, calling on the authorities in Baku to take “appropriate measures” to stop the allegedly biased print and broadcast reports.
Iranian Ambassador Seyed Abbas Musavi was summoned in response on April 3. The Iranian diplomat was told the protest was not “objective,” and a list of examples of anti-Azerbaijan reports in Iran were presented, according to Foreign Ministry press secretary Ayxan Hacizada.
“During the meeting, the need to take urgent measures to prevent the spread of false and biased information against Azerbaijan in the Iranian media was emphasized,” Hacizada said.
The development comes amid a spate of incidents that have strained relations between the two countries.
Tehran last week protested the alleged presence of anti-Iranian foreign forces on Azerbaijani territory, a claim that Baku denied.
In February, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry detained some 40 people on suspicion they belonged to an alleged Iranian spy network that used religion to push pro-Iranian propaganda.
In January, an armed attacker stormed the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran, killing one security guard and injuring two other embassy employees. Baku declared the incident an “act of terrorism” and demanded a prompt investigation, and evacuated all of its embassy staff and their family members.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hacizada said at the time that “all responsibility for the attack lies with Iran,” saying that an anti-Azerbaijani campaign in the Iranian media had “emboldened the attack.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and launched what it called a “high-priority” investigation.
Police in Tehran said following the detention of a suspect that there was a personal, not political motive behind the attack.
Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036