The Iranian foreign ministry said on Friday that expelling the Azeri diplomats came in a tit-for-tat move done by Baku earlier this year.

Four Azeri diplomats in Tehran and Tabriz were declared as persona non grata and expelled.

Azerbaijan had expelled four Iranian diplomats earlier this year.

On April 6, Iranian Ambassador Seyed Abbas Mousavi was summoned to the Azerbaijan's foriegn ministry in Baku.

Mousavi was notified that four employees of the Iranian Embassy had been declared as persona non grata by the Azeri government.

The ambassador was also informed that the Iranian diplomats had to leave Azerbaijan within 48 hours.