Iran lost 1.8 million Azerbaijani tourists after 2023 embassy attack

Iran has lost 1.8 million Azerbaijani tourists following the January 2023 attack on its embassy, said Iranian Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage Anoushirvan Mohseni.

“In 2019, nearly 9.8 million tourists visited the country. The following year, the pandemic began. As a result of the incident involving an Azerbaijani citizen at the embassy, we lost 1.8 million tourists from Azerbaijan,” Mohseni said during a press briefing, Caliber.Az writes via Iranian media.

The incident occurred on January 27, 2023, at 08:30 Baku time, when Iranian national Yasin Huseynzada, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, breached the embassy’s security post. He killed the head of security, Orkhan Asgarov, and injured guards Vasif Tagiyev and Mahir Imanov, who were attempting to stop the attack.

By Khagan Isayev