Austrian envoy: 'We'll stay in Azerbaijan until military operations in Iran end'

Austria's Ambassador to Tehran, Friedrich Stift, who crossed into Azerbaijan together with four other Austrian diplomats after leaving Iran, expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani side for their reception.

According to Report, Stift shared details in a conversation with journalists.

"Due to the dangerous situation in Iran, we are heading to Baku. We do not know how long the attacks (by the US and Israel on Iran - ed.) will continue, so we decided it would be better to move to a safe country. We are extremely grateful to the Republic of Azerbaijan for the warm welcome and reception at the border," the diplomat said.

The ambassador noted that they intend to remain in Azerbaijan until military operations in Iran are over: "We will stay here as long as necessary. However, we hope that the combat operations and strikes against Iran will end soon, and we will be able to return to Tehran to continue our work."

The ambassador also said he personally heard the sounds of explosions in the Iranian capital: "In recent days, we were waking up at around 2-3 a.m. to the sounds of blasts and saw smoke rising. Today, as we left the city, we saw several buildings engulfed in flames."

Commenting on Iran's drone strike on Nakhchivan, Stift stated: "Of course, such attacks are not a good development."

He added that earlier today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered an address apologizing to neighboring countries and declaring Tehran's intention to halt attacks against them.