Iran replaces Tehran police chief after attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy

Al-Arabia – Iran appointed a new police chief for Tehran on Friday following an armed attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in the capital, though it was unclear if the appointment was influenced by the attack.

Abbas-Ali Mohammadian has been named as the new police commander of Tehran, replacing Hossein Rahimi, who will now head a police department tasked with countering “economic crimes,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The announcement came soon after a gunman attacked Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran, killing an Azerbaijani security official and wounding two others.

Iranian police and media did not say if there was any connection between the announcement and the attack.

Iranian authorities said the attacker was arrested and cited “personal and family problems” as the motivation for the attack.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev described the attack as “an act of terrorism.”