Iran executes man accused of deadly 2023 Azerbaijan embassy shooting
Iran on Wednesday executed the man convicted of a deadly 2023 attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, the judiciary’s official news agency Mizan reported.
Iran on Wednesday executed the man convicted of a deadly 2023 attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, the judiciary’s official news agency Mizan reported.
The attacker, identified as Yasin Hoseinzadeh, stormed the embassy in January 2023, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle.
He broke through the security post and opened fire, killing the head of the embassy’s security service, Orkhan Asgarov, and injuring two others — Vasif Taghiyev and Mahir Imanov — who tried to stop the attack, according to APA.
At the time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the attack on social media, calling it a “terrorist act” and “unacceptable.”
Iranian authorities said the attacker acted on a personal motive, believing his wife was inside the embassy and refusing to see him.
He was sentenced to death for murder, illegal possession of firearms, and disturbing public order. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict, and the sentence was carried out on Wednesday morning.
The attack led to the suspension of Azerbaijan’s embassy operations in Iran. Diplomatic staff and their families were evacuated shortly after the incident, and the mission only resumed work at a new location in July last year following negotiations between the two countries.
Relations between the two neighbours have been tense, with Azerbaijan accusing Iran of mistreating its ethnic Azeri population, and Tehran expressing concern over Baku’s close ties with Israel and possible regional border shifts following the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
The Telly Awards, established in 1979, honor excellence in video and television across all screens.
Rajabian whose compositions have been featured in several Mercedes-Benz promotional materials, was recognized at the 46th edition of the awards.
His music was featured in teasers for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, the brand's most expensive model, and for Earth Day campaigns.
"The award has previously been given to the creators of teaser music for BMW, Toyota, Meta, Adidas, Apple, and Netflix, as well as to producers of content from The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Fox News, NBC, Bloomberg, Warner Bros., and others," Rajabian said on his Instagram, dedicating the prize to his fans.
The Iranian artist was honored in 2023 with the United Nations' Minority Artist Award, which recognized his efforts to highlight issues of discrimination and human rights through his art.
"Happiness is a collective event, and unfortunately, no one is happy here [Iran]. The situation has changed completely after the recent protests. No award can be a criterion for determining an artist's artistic value, but it can certainly be a platform for the voice of human rights and artistic freedom,” said Rajabian in a statement on his UN award.
He previously faced imprisonment in Iran for his musical activities, enduring solitary confinement and a hunger strike.
Rajabian was arrested in 2013 for releasing underground music and was charged with “propaganda against the government”. He was put in solitary confinement for three months and then released on bail.
He was again arrested in 2015 for his album The History of Iran Narrated by Setar, a lute-like instrument used in traditional Persian music.
In Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, Rajabian began a 40-day hunger strike that led to his release on parole in 2017.
Rajabian was arrested again in 2020 for his album Middle Eastern but did not spend time in jail and was released on bail. He was accused of “encouraging prostitution” because females were singing in the album.
