US Secretary of State Welcomes Albania’s Move to Expel Islamic Republic Officials
The US Secretary of State thanked Albania’s action in expelling two officials of the Islamic Republic, noting that three Iranian plots in Europe were thwarted over the past year.
Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: “I commend Prime Minister Edi Rama for expelling two Iranian officials who planned terrorist attacks in Albania.”
The US Secretary of State added: “Only this year, European countries have thwarted three plots by the Iranian regime. The world must unite in sanctioning the Iranian regime until it changes its destructive behavior.”
On Wednesday, Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared two diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran as “persona non grata” and expelled them. The country did not mention the names of these diplomats, but Albania’s Foreign Ministry statement indicated that the two took actions that endangered the security of the host country.
Albania’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the expulsion of the two Iranian diplomats was taken following consultations with other countries, including Israel.
In recent months, several European countries have expelled diplomats of the Islamic Republic. For example, the Netherlands expelled two attachés of the Islamic Republic’s embassy in June of this year.
European countries have not yet disclosed the reasons for these expulsions, but the judicial authorities of some European countries have mentioned terrorist plots and plans of the Islamic Republic.
Last summer, “Assadollah Assadi,” a diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Austrian embassy, was accused of attempting to plan an explosion at the annual conference of the Mujahedin-e Khalq. Six months earlier, a disgruntled Iranian was killed in the Netherlands.
Albania does not have close relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, but in recent years, following agreements made with the United Nations, the country has hosted about two thousand members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq who were transferred from Iraq to this country.
Source: Voice of America
