Northern Cyprus, Kazakhstan condemn attack on Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Kazakhstan on Friday condemned the armed attack on Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran.

"I strongly condemn the martyrdom of the security chief in charge of the embassy as a result of the perfidious attack on the Azerbaijan Embassy in Tehran," Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar said in a statement.

Conveying his condolences to "our Azerbaijani compatriots on behalf of myself and my people," Tatar said the TRNC would stand by Baku under all circumstances.

In a separate statement, Kazakhstan also strongly condemned the attack, with the Central Asian nation's Foreign Ministry saying that any act of violence and aggression against diplomatic missions and their representatives was unacceptable.

The Iranian authorities will carry out a thorough investigation and punish the perpetrators accordingly, it added.

In another Central Asian country, Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev also conveyed his condolences to his Azerbaijani counterpart over the phone.

An armed assailant stormed the embassy building in Tehran on Friday morning with an automatic weapon, officials said.

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

The incident took place at around 8.30 a.m. local time (0500GMT) when the armed man opened fire at the picket of embassy guards in northern Tehran, according to local sources.

The attacker was immediately arrested by security forces, Tehran's police chief Hossein Rahimi told reporters at the scene of the incident, confirming the death of one person.