Interview of the Islamic Republic's Ambassador in Baku with 'Hijab-Free' Journalist Causes Controversy; Abbas Mousavi to Return to Iran

One day after the Tasnim News Agency criticized the presence of a hijab-free Azerbaijani journalist inside the Islamic Republic's embassy in Baku for an interview with the ambassador, news sources reported the dismissal of Abbas Mousavi. On Friday, April 10, the Mehr News Agency quoted an informed source in the Foreign Ministry stating that Abbas Mousavi's mission in Baku has ended, and a new ambassador will be sent to Azerbaijan. The report did not mention the name of the new ambassador or the reason for Abbas Mousavi's return to Iran. The Tasnim News Agency, close to intelligence agencies, described the presence of the hijab-free Azerbaijani journalist in the Iranian embassy in Baku as an 'insult to relations within the territory of Iran' and called for Abbas Mousavi's resignation. This conservative news agency also expressed dissatisfaction with the content of the interview conducted by the Baku journalist with the Islamic Republic's ambassador, accusing Abbas Mousavi of responding to the journalist's 'leading questions' from a position of 'accused and acceptance of weakness.' Tasnim did not publish details about the interview. Azerbaijani media mentioned the name of the Baku television journalist as Sevinc Gol Memduh and reported that her attire, which had previously not been criticized during interviews with the ambassadors of the UAE and Pakistan, had never been a target of criticism. Abbas Mousavi, who was appointed as the Islamic Republic of Iran's ambassador to Azerbaijan in September 2020, had previously met with foreign hijab-free women, including the UN coordinator in Azerbaijan and the spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Criticism of the hijab-free Azerbaijani journalist's presence in the Islamic Republic's embassy comes amid widespread protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the morality police, during which several Iranian women removed their headscarves. The Iranian government's efforts to enforce mandatory hijab and counter civil disobedience from hijab-free women have so far been unsuccessful. Iran stated that 'last month' it expelled four Azerbaijani diplomats. Aliyev stated that predicting the future of relations between Iran and Azerbaijan is very complex. Sources from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Interior reported that '20 local agents' of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence were arrested. The visit of an Armenian security official to Iran coincides with increasing tensions between Tehran and Baku.