IRGC targets pro-Israel Azerbaijani lawmaker ahead of embassy opening
The assassination attempt comes a day before the official opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel
Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa, known for his staunch support for strengthening relations with Israel, survived an assassination attempt on Tuesday evening near his home in the capital of Baku.
State Security Services declared that it was a terrorist attack, as the shooter was armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Less than an hour afterwards, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official Telegram channel called Mustafa “one of the most hardcore enemies of the Shia religion in Azerbaijan.”
A week ago, the lawmaker called on the Azerbaijani security services to check the sources of financing for several Shia religious organizations that arrange discounted pilgrimages for young Azerbaijanis to Iran, where some of them are being recruited by the IRGC.
A day before the assassination attempt, yet another group of pro-Iran agents was uncovered and detained in the country.
Following the attempt, the Islamic Resistance Movement of Hüseyniyyun of Azerbaijan, created by the IRGC from the adherents of their ideology who fled to Iran, published a warning to other Azerbaijani officials: “The Zionists and their executive forces in Azerbaijan should know that their security is not guaranteed in any Muslim country and they will definitely receive a heavy slap from the Muslims.”
Mustafa was one of the signatories of the official letter from the Milli Majilis (Parliament) to the Knesset, which was sent in January. In this letter Azerbaijani MPs thanked Israel for its support, and stressed that Iran constitutes a threat to both countries.
This assassination attempt also comes a day before the official opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel. A delegation, headed by the Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov, arrived in Tel Aviv for the ceremony that is set to take place Wednesday evening.
Mustafa is not the first MP to become a target of Islamic militants for his anti-Khomeinist stance and pro-Israel position. In 1997, MP Ziya Bunyatov was murdered in Baku by pro-Iranian agents.