MONITORING (SW) – The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the charge d’affaires of the Afghan embassy in Tehran to protest the attacks on its missions in Kabul and Herat.
Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the ministry’s director general for South Asia had called on the government to take legal action against those who attacked the Iranian embassy in Afghanistan, noting the responsibility of governments to ensure the security of diplomatic missions.
The statement also said that the Director General of South Asia of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed the Chargé d’Affaires of the Afghan Embassy that the consular sections of the Afghan missions in Afghanistan had ceased their activities until further notice.
A number of Afghan citizens protested in front of the Iranian embassy and consulate yesterday in response to the viral images and videos of the persecution of Afghan refugees in Iran. Protesters in Herat set fire to the entrance door of the Iranian consulate and threw stones at its building.
Earlier, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, responded to the protests by calling for security at the embassy and representations, saying that protecting the security of diplomatic sites was the sole responsibility of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan.
In recent days, videos have been circulating on social media showing the harassment of Afghan citizens in Iran. The Iranian government, however, denies the credibility of the videos, saying the clips were released in a manner intended to spoil relations between the two countries.
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