Albania deports Iran envoy for ‘harming national security’

Albania has expelled Iran’s ambassador and another diplomat accusing them of “damaging its national security”, the country’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.

The ministry did not name the two diplomats, and did not provide details on when they were expelled or whether they had left the country. But it told Reuters that it had consulted its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance partners on the resolution.

The United States’ national security adviser, John Bolton, said on Twitter that the Albanian move “signals to Iran’s leaders that their support for terrorism will not be tolerated.”

Bolton – who was reported to have played a major role in American President Donald Trump’s decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran and withdraw from the 2015 international nuclear deal – stressed American’s support for the Albanian people as they counter what he described as “Iran’s reckless behaviour in Europe and across the globe”.

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In an official letter, Trump praised the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama “for your steadfast efforts to stand up to Iran and to counter its destabilising activities and efforts to silence dissidents around the globe.”

In response, Iran foreign ministry’s spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, told state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) yesterday that the move was made following pressures from Israel and the United States.

“Obviously this [expulsion] is a measure which has been taken under Israel and America’s pressure,” Ghasemi said.

The US and Israel, he pointed out, have been working to destroy Iran’s relations with Europe. “We expect Albania to respect its own independence.”

“Albania has become an unintentional victim of the US, Israel and some terrorist groups,” the Iranian official warned.

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