TEHRAN – A group of 210 Iranian lawmakers has issued a joint statement on Wednesday to condemn Azerbaijan’s move to open an embassy in Tel Aviv and appoint an ambassador to Israel.

“In a move that runs counter to the interests of the Muslim world and is hard to believe, the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan has decided to open an embassy in the capital of the Zionist occupying regime of al-Quds and appointed an ambassador to this fake regime,” the Iranian lawmakers said in the statement.

They added, “This action of the statesmen of the Republic of Azerbaijan will have many negative political consequences against them. From now on, the Muslims of the world will consider them accomplices of the Zionist regime in the murder and crime against the oppressed Palestinians.”

The statement continued, “This move is considered an action against an oppressed country of the Islamic world, dear Palestine, and causes their inalienable rights to be violated. Therefore, we request the Arab and Islamic governments and the Islamic world, especially the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Secretariat of the Inter-Islamic Councils, and the freedom-loving representatives of the world, to condemn it.”

The Iranian lawmakers also called on the Iranian foreign ministry to take the necessary diplomatic measures and send statements to all Islamic countries. 

They also called on the Azerbaijani parliament to take a stance against the decision of the Azerbaijani government. 

On March 30, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel, drawing the ire of Iran. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov traveled to Tel Aviv to inaugurate the embassy. Remarks by the Israeli foreign minister during the visit that Azerbaijan and Israel were creating a united front against Iran caused a huge uproar in Tehran.

“We demanded an explanation from the Azeri government regarding the Zionist regime’s remarks about an agreement between Tel Aviv and Baku to form a united front against Iran. The Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to respond and instead leveled new accusations against Iran. Isn’t this continued silence an implicit confirmation of Baku's strategic partner? By approaching Muslim countries, the murderous Zionist regime only seeks to cause divisions in the Islamic ummah in order to achieve its expansionist goals,” Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said on Twitter. 

He added, “We advise our Muslim brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan to be vigilant in the face of the true intentions of the Zionist enemy.”

Kanaani reacted to comments by the Zionist regime’s foreign minister on the “formation of a united front against Iran”, describing the remarks as yet another piece of evidence proving the Zionist regime’s evil intentions to turn the Republic of Azerbaijan’s territory into a threat against the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He strongly condemned the statements, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.