Iranian diplomats declared "persona non grata" and "spy hunt"

Baku/07.04.23/Turan: On April 6, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Azerbaijan Seyid Abbas Mousavi was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the meeting, a strong protest was expressed to him in connection with the recent provocative activities against Azerbaijan, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

It was brought to the attention of the Iranian Ambassador that 4 employees of the Iranian Embassy were declared "persona non grata" (undesirable persons) by the Azerbaijani government for activities incompatible with diplomatic status and contrary to the law of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and that they must leave the territory of Azerbaijan within 48 hours.

The process of departure of these diplomats from Azerbaijan has already begun, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry  stated on April 7. The positions of the expelled diplomats are not named. Their names are Mirmahdi Mirsalampur Sharif, Gurbanali Purmarjan Varjovi, Hadi Moghadam, Asghar Bahari Hosh Manzar.

Meanwhile, arrests of believers continue in Azerbaijan. People detained during this process, which is  called a "spy hunt" in social networks, are accused of working for Iran.

Political observer Zardusht Alizadeh comments on what is happening in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, if the tension that has arisen between Azerbaijan and Iran does not lead to war, then gradually everything will return to its usual state.

"I don't think Iran needs a war with Azerbaijan and I'm sure Azerbaijan doesn't need a war with Iran. Following the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran for 30 years, I see that from time to time, tensions arise,  and then everything returns to its course. I am sure that it will be the same this time," he said.

The observer noted that a significant part of the embassy staff are employees of the secret services since the presence of a diplomatic passport allows them to conduct intelligence work legally and safely. He also recalled that the expulsion of diplomats is a fairly common phenomenon.

"During the Soviet era, we often heard about the declaration of American, British, and other Western diplomats as "persona non grata". Then, in response, the expulsion of Soviet diplomats took place. It is common occurrence. When tension increases, one of the sides, in order to express its dissatisfaction, declares the diplomats of the opposing side “persona non grata,” Alizadeh said, adding, "Iran has no opportunity to declare our diplomats “persona non grata,” since they left Tehran a long time ago. Azerbaijan had such an opportunity, and it took advantage of it."--0--