Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents U.S. interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the U.S. of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
U.S. prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. The U.S. blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.
Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.
Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the U.S. government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.
“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.
Read next
15:45
Israel
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s reluctance to support military action, Israel has not ruled out launching a limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to Israeli and other sources familiar with the matter.
13:40
nuclear talks
Iran and the United States are set to hold a new round of indirect nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday, as both sides continue to search for a resolution to their decades-long standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
21:30
US-Iran nuclear talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov extended Moscow’s support for the ongoing indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, offering to mediate or assist in any way that would be beneficial to Tehran and acceptable to Washington.
16:30
Nuclear Deals
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has signaled that a nuclear agreement with the United States remains within reach, provided Washington adopts a realistic and constructive approach ahead of the second round of negotiations with the Trump administration.
10:19
IRAN - RUSSIA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Moscow.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment