Irans Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak-Ayeen says two Azeri nationals, arrested in the Islamic Republic over illegal activities, have been released.
Pak-Ayeen said that the two Azeri nationals were released Sunday morning in the northwestern city of Tabriz.
The two individuals, identified as Khalida Khalid, a researcher at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), and her driver Shamkhal Huseynov, had been arrested on charges of unconventional connections.
On May 4, an official with the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrest of the two Azeri nationals. The informed source said the individuals had been detained for illegal activities and that the countrys Judiciary was probing the case.
On May 9, Pak-Ayeen dismissed claims that the arrest of Khalid was related to her being an employee of ANAS, explaining that Iran has very good relations with ANAS, and that the academys members attend seminars in Iran.
The two Azerbaijani citizens had traveled to Iran as tourists and were detained for breaching Iranian laws, the Iranian ambassador said at the time.