Tehran summons Danish envoy to protest insecurity for Iranian diplomats in Copenhagen

During a meeting between the director general of West Europe at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Danish ambassador, he was reminded of the responsibility of the host government to protect the diplomatic missions of other countries and of the need for the Danish government to adhere to its international obligations in that regard.

In response, the Danish ambassador apologized for the incident, saying security measures will be strengthened after the incident.

He added that he will immediately convey Iran’s protest to Copenhagen.
Danish police said later on Friday that it has arrested the 32-year-old man who attacked the Iranian embassy in Copenhagen.

The man, an Iranian citizen, had been stopped by an employee before entering the embassy building, police said, according to Reuters.

He will have a court hearing at Copenhagen city court on Saturday and will be charged with two counts of vandalism, for violence, and for breaching a section of the penal code that deals with crimes against people with diplomatic status.

In a phone call with Iranian Ambassador to Copenhagen Afsaneh Nadipour on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said it is a shame that such an attack happens against a “female ambassador with diplomatic impunity in the heart of Europe.”

He also criticized the Danish police for their belated response to the intrusion.

The envoy then briefed the foreign minister on the circumstances surrounding the attack, saying, “After trespassing on the embassy’s premises, the assailant, carrying a cold weapon, started to threaten, terrorize and cause damage to the vehicles in the parking lot of the embassy.”

“Unfortunately, despite the previous official warnings, the Danish police arrived at the embassy with considerable delay,” Nadipour added.

Nationwide riots erupted after the death of a young Iranian woman last month. Anti-Iran rioters have also gathered in front of the Islamic Republic’s embassies and consulates in some cities around the world, with some clashes reported between them and host countries’ police.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Sweden’s chargé d’affaires to protest an attack on the Iranian embassy in Stockholm.

The Swedish diplomat has been summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry in the absence of the ambassador to convey the Islamic Republic’s strong protest with regard to the Swedish police’s failure to take the fully required security measures in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has also expressed its protest to Belgium over a similar attack on the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Brussels.