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Iran Blames U.S. for Kidnapping Diplomat
Iran has accused the United States of abducting its diplomat in Baghdad, the IRNA Iranian news agency reported Tuesday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the abduction of an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad is linked with the Iraqi Defense Ministry which is under control of U.S. forces.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the terrorist act which runs counter to international regulations and the Vienna Convention,” Hosseini said Tuesday. He added that Iran considers US forces in Iraq responsible to “protect members of the diplomatic community, including Iranian diplomats, and will hold them responsible for securing the release of the abducted Iranian diplomat.”
According to some reports, Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary of the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, was kidnapped Sunday in front of the Baghdad branch of an Iranian bank by people in Iraqi military form.
Two Iraqi officials said the Iranian had been kidnapped by militants, and talks on this release would start soon.
Another Iraqi official reported on conditions of anonymity that Mr. Sharafi’s car had been stopped by Iraqi soldiers who work under the command of the U.S. military.
U.S. Forces spokesman Christopher Garver did not confirm this information on Tuesday, dismissing any links between the abduction and American presence in Iraq.
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