Albania’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it had expelled two Iranian diplomats suspected of “involvement in activities that harm the country’s security.”
Responding to the move, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in a statement that the move has been implemented under pressure from the U.S. government and the Zionist regime’s security service and in collaboration with some anti-Iran terrorist groups, Tasnim reported.
The Iranian diplomats have been expelled from Albania on the basis of “bogus and wrong allegations” that are aimed to “harm and influence relations between Iran and Europe,” he added.
Qassemi said Albania’s move “has no justification or logical grounds and has been totally made on the basis of fabricated and wrong information provided by certain security services.”
Albania, he said, which has always had good relations with Iran, has become a victim of the evil plots by those making up scenarios against Iran.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton was quick to publicly support Albania’s decision.
“We stand with PM [Edi] Rama and the Albanian people as they stand up to Iran’s reckless behavior in Europe and across the globe,” he tweeted.
U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo described the diplomats as “two Iranian agents who plotted terrorist attacks in Albania.”
Qassemi said the remarks by U.S. officials about the incident were “childish, amateurish and hasty”, adding that they revealed the role of “non-professional and paid terrorist groups” behind the development.
“We have seen in recent months that as the cooperation between Iran and Europe for nullifying U.S. unilateral and illegal sanctions have become more serious, more plots have been hatched to damage Iran-Europe ties,” the spokesperson added