Expert holds hosting states as responsible for safeguarding foreign embassies

Tehran, IRNA – An expert in West Asia affairs said that based on international laws, hosting countries are responsible for safeguarding foreign embassies. Under no circumstances the hosting states should allow the security of resident diplomats to be affected by international media campaigns, Hassan Hanizadeh told IRNA. Referring to the recent attack on Iran's embassy in Denmark and the measures taken against Iranian diplomatic missions in Europe, he said the assault against the Iranian ambassador in Denmark indicates that Denmark has turned out to be a safe haven for terrorists in Europe. This is not the first time that MKO agents and separatists, together with the Zionists and the former Iraqi Ba'ath regime, attack Iranian embassies in other countries. On April 30, 1980, about six armed separatists attacked Iran’s embassy in the south of London and took a number of Iranian diplomats hostage for 6 days, he said. Unfortunately, due to the British government's cooperation with the separatist terrorists, the British police took action with delay, which resulted in the martyrdom of two embassy staff and injuring two others, he noted. After the start of protests in some Iranian cities, MKO terrorists and fugitive monarchists tried to enter the Iranian embassy in London, but these attempts were foiled, he stated. Although European countries claim to comply with international protocols, they cooperate with foreign terrorist groups, Hanizadeh said. The Islamic Republic has the right to ask the European countries, based on international laws, to arrest the terrorists who have recently threatened the Iranian embassies, he noted. Following the invasion by an assailant armed with a knife on Iran Embassy in Copenhagen, leading to harming a local employee and damages on parked cars in the embassy, Denmark Police in a statement announced that the attacker would stand in a court trial. Denmark Police in reaction to the violation of Iran Embassy premises in Copenhagen announced that a person aged 32 and armed with a knife has been arrested for trespassing against the Iran Embassy and attacking an employee there. The intruder was imprisoned based on a request filed by the Denmark prosecutor general till his trial. The police communique on the matter indicates that the intruder has been accused of two criminal acts, including breaching the Danish criminal codes and making aggressive moves. According to the police statement, after the occurrence of the incidence, required intensified security measures are made around Iran Embassy and for its employees, in collaboration with the Danish Intelligence Service, which is now engaged in investigating the dimensions of the incidence. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish