IRAN URGES LONDON TO FREE ITS DIPLOMAT ACCUSED OF TERRORISM
TEHRAN 24 Aug. (IPS)
As the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry protested Saturday to both England and Argentine over the arrest of former Iranian diplomat by the Scotland Yard, acting on an international warrant issued by an Argentinean judge, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami promised on Sunday that Tehran would take "tough actions" against London and Buenos Aires for the "tactless" measure".Mr Hadi Soleymanpour, 47, a former Iranian ambassador to Argentine, was arrested on Thursday evening at his flat at Durham, north of England, where he is studying at the city’s univeristy, accused by argentine authorities of participation in the 1994 explosion of the Jewish centre in Buenos Aires, by alleged members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, acting on orders from its Iranian master, living more than 80 dead and 300 wounded.
Judge Juan Jose Galeano issued last week an international warrant against eight Iranian officials, including Mr. Soleymanpour, but also Hojjatoeslam Ali Fallahian, the Intelligence Minister at the time of the explosion and Hojjatoleslam Mohsen Rabbani, the Cultural attaché at the Embassy.
Iranians had denied the charges and accused the "Zionist circles" and Israel to be behind the "plot" aimed at harming good relations between Tehran and Buenos Aires.
On protesting Saturday to Argentine charge d’affairs in Tehran, the Foreign Affairs Ministry repeated the accusations and reiterated that Buenos Aires had not responded to Iranian offer for cooperation in determining the culprits in the AMIA explosion.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr. Khatami said that Iran intends "to respond in the most serious and resolute way" to such actions, but stop short of being more precise in his threats.
Khatami expressed hope that the British cabinet would settle the problem in the shortest possible period of time and "will apologise to Tehran for the actions of its police", the official news agency IRNA said, adding that he also described the arrest of Mr. Soleymanpour as a "political decision" provoked by lobbies that are hostile to the Islamic Republic and are creating international pressures over Iran.
"We had met such situations in the past and have stand up to them. So, we have experience in how to deal with them", Khatami told journalists
In protests to both Britain and Argentine, Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has called on London to "immediately release" Mr. Soleymanpour and warned it "not to enter" games it is not a party and as to Buenos Aires, it warned that Iran would not let the arrest of Mr. Soleymanpour go without grave consequence for Argentina.
Iran has called the Soleymanpour's case as politically motivated and said it was cutting economic and cultural ties with Argentina because of the arrest.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is sensitive about all of its citizens, particularly those who have responsibility and have served it, and it will not compromise on this", Khatami said.
Britain's charge d'affaires, Matthew Gould, told "Reuters" he had been summoned Sunday to the Foreign Ministry, where he said officials delivered a message asking for a swift resolution to the case. Gould had already been summoned Saturday.
"I repeated our position which is that the arrest was in no sense politically motivated", Gould said, adding that the court's decision was independent of the British government.
It is not known why Mr. Soleymanpour, who entered Britain with his wife and two children on a student visa in February last year to study at Durham University, did not left Britain immediately after the arrest order was issues by Judge Galeano.
A British diplomatic source said British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, who has visited Iran four times, and his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi had been in regular contact about the case. The source said Britain hoped the case would not damage the ties built up recently between the two countries.
But the daily "Hamshahri", which is close to the conservatives, warned in a commentary that by arresting the Iranian diplomat, London might loose the position it wanted to occupy as a privileged and trusted party between Iran and the international community.
Iranian and British judicial experts and lawyers said the case of Mr. Soleymanpour may last one year before London could decide to extradite him to Argentina or deport him to Tehran, in case he do not ask for political asylum from Britain. ENDS DIPLOMAT ARRESTED 240803
Straw has made four visits to Iran in the past two years.