The Italian government has decided, "for security reasons," to "temporarily close" its embassy in Tehran and transfer all diplomatic personnel to Baku, Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, Agenzia Nova reports.
A mission involving 50 Italians who left Tehran and crossed the Azerbaijani border has just concluded. Among them were our ambassador and diplomats, because for security reasons we have decided to temporarily close the Italian Embassy in Tehran, Tajani said, specifying that from Baku, the staff will continue to "maintain relations with Iran."
All the Italians who wanted to leave the country have left and been secured, the minister added, noting that other Italians are still in Tehran. "They have all arrived safely, are already in Azerbaijan, and crossed the border a few minutes ago," the foreign minister explained.
Tajani said the "temporary" closure of the Italian embassy in Tehran does not imply a severance of diplomatic relations with Iran. "The embassy was temporarily closed only for security reasons, not for any other reason," the minister said. The government "continues to seek dialogue with Iran as well," he concluded.
Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Italy will send air defenses to support Gulf states currently under attack from Iran.
