Iranian Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pak-Ayeen says the two Azeri nationals recently detained in Iran had violated Iranian law.The two Azerbaijani citizens had traveled to Iran as tourists and were detained for breaching Iranian laws, IRNA reported on Wednesday.
The senior Iranian diplomat made the remark in response to a question from the Azerbaijan News Agency (APA) about the arrest of Khalida Khalid, a researcher at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), and her driver Shamkhal Huseynov, in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz.
Dismissing claims that the arrest of Khalid was related to her being an employee of ANAS, the Iranian ambassador explained that Iran has very good relations with ANAS, and that the academys members attend seminars in Iran.
Pak-Ayeen reiterated that the arrests of the Azeri nationals were made due to their violation of Iranian law, elaborating that over 130 Iranian nationals are currently being held in detention in Azerbaijan for violating the Azeri law.
He emphasized that the detention of the two Azeri citizens will have no bearing on Tehran-Baku relations.
On May 4, an official with the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrest of the two Azeri nationals and said the individuals had been detained for illegal activities.
The Iranian official added that the countrys Judiciary was probing the case.
By Press TV
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