Tehran does not consider Azerbaijan’s decision to declare 14 Iranian citizens as personae non gratae as a friendly step and has lodged an official complaint with Baku. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated this at a press conference on Monday

According to Baghaei, declaring these individuals personae non gratae makes no sense, since none of them are diplomats and have not been in Azerbaijan.

The Iranian MFA spokesperson noted that the Azerbaijani ambassador to Tehran was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry, where he was presented with the Iranian side’s complaint.

“We will take the measures we deem necessary in the future, too, and inform about them,” Baghaei concluded.

Earlier, Azerbaijan had banned the entry of 14 Iranian citizens into the country. As reported by the Azerbaijani side, these individuals have called for attacks against Azerbaijan and incited hostility by way of the media and social media, which is why they have been declared personae non gratae

Among those banned from entry into Azerbaijan are prominent political and religious figures, parliamentarians, analysts, as well as members of the media, science, and academia.