Iran rejects arrest of British, French diplomats
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the reports about the arrest of two European diplomats.
No foreign diplomat was arrested in the country’s west, an informed source in Iran’s Foreign Ministry said, ISNA news agency reported Aug. 17.
The two diplomats’ visit to one of the country’s western provinces was already coordinated, the source said.
“The travel and meetings were made with a prior notice,” the source added.
The diplomats’ vehicle was stopped by police only for checking the documents and they continued to their trip after being identified, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry source.
Meanwhile, Mehr news agency quoted an IRGC intelligence official in Kurdistan Province as saying the diplomats were suspiciously filming military sites and when ordered to stop, they fled.
A Toyota Pajero with a diplomatic license plate was finally forced to stop near Irankhah village, close to Saqqez city, said the official.
The incident occurred on Aug 13, the IRGC official said, adding the vehicle’s passengers were Sébastien Surun, French political attaché, and Charlotte Lopez, second secretary of the British Embassy in Tehran.
The security official further said the two diplomats were driving illegally through some regions of Kurdistan Province without having any permission or prior coordination.
He also said the IRGC intelligence forces sized the diplomats’ camera.
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