The identity of four of the suspects in the shooting of Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa was published by Azerbaijani media on Monday, with the reports alleging that the three were working on the order of Iranian security forces.
The four were identified as Azer Sarijanov, Sabuhi Shirinov, Elshad Askerov and Emin Aliyev, according to the Azerbaijani Turan news site.
According to Azerbaijani reports, the suspects visited Iran often and Sarijanov is a religious activist known as "Haji Azer" who posts speeches on YouTube.
According to Turan, Sarijanov was the organizer of the attack, while Shirinov was the shooter. The news site reported that the attack was carried out on the order of "Iranian special services" and with financial support from Iran.
Another report on the arrests on the APA news site did not mention Emin Aliyev and did not report that the attack was carried out on the order of Iranian security forces.
Azerbaijani MPs blame Iran for shooting
Last week, a number of Azerbaijani MPs blamed Iran for the shooting that targeted Mustafa.
Mashhur Mammadov, an MP from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, told the Turan news outlet that the attempted assassination was "a step taken by foreign forces to undermine the stability and reforms carried out in the country."
Mammadov noted that the assault took place during a visit by Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, to Israel for the opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel.
"Everyone knows that along with Armenia there is another state that is capable of provocation against Azerbaijan and openly declares this - it is Iran," added the MP.
Zahid Oruj, the chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament's Committee for Human Rights, told Turan that the individuals behind the attack "are trying to ensure that Azerbaijan takes the path of confrontation with various states and abandons the policy of balance. They want us to take sides, join different blocs. If the external traces of this terror are proved, then the relations with this state should be determined by the results of the investigation."
The Azerbaijani Trend news agency also published an analysis connecting the attempted assassination to Iran, noting the opening of the country's embassy in Israel and the fact that Mustafa was known for his anti-Iranian rhetoric.
Azerbaijan's State Security Service announced last week that the assault was a "terrorist attack" and that it was conducting operations to identify the assailant and other suspects in the attack.
Tensions continue to rise between Azerbaijan and Iran
Tensions have risen between Azerbaijan and Iran in the past year in light of a number of issues, including efforts by Azerbaijan to create a corridor through Armenia to an exclave belonging to Azerbaijan, claims that Israeli intelligence is operating against Iran from Azerbaijan and op-eds by Azerbaijani newspapers encouraging the West Azerbaijan province of Iran to secede and join Azerbaijan.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani expressed outrage at comments made by Israeli officials concerning the formation of a "united front against Iran" with Azerbaijan after a visit by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to Israel.
Kanaani warned: "We advise Muslim brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan to be alert to the real intentions of the Zionist enemy."
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stressed in response that "Azerbaijan has never allowed the use of its territory against third countries," adding that the Bayramov did not make any comments against Iran. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry additionally expressed outrage at "anti-Azerbaijani statements" by Iranian officials, recent Iranian military exercises near the Azerbaijani border and the initial findings of the investigation into the shooting of Mustafa which link the shooting to Iran.
In November, the Azerbaijani State Security Service announced that an Iranian spy network was discovered operating in Azerbaijan.
The announcement concerning that network came just two weeks after the security service said it had found an illegal armed group operating in the country for Iran's intelligence services.
In January, a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people at Azerbaijan's embassy in Iran, in an attack Baku branded an "act of terrorism" that it said was the result of Tehran failing to heed its calls for improved security.
Police in Tehran said they had arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned the incident, but said the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political motive.
Two weeks ago, the commander of the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Muhammad Pakpour, visited forces near the border between Iran and Azerbaijan.
In recent months, concerns have risen that Azerbaijan may try to create a corridor called the Zangezur Corridor between Azerbaijan and an exclave controlled by Azerbaijan called Nakhchivan. The two regions are split by Armenian territory which connects Armenia to Iran.
The move has sparked concerns from both Armenia and Iran as it would cut off the link between Iran and Armenia.