The Albanian Foreign ministry announced that the Iranian ambassador and another diplomat had been expelled for “harming national security.”
The ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying that it had consulted its NATO partners on the decision, but did not identify the two diplomats.
Albanian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Edlira Prendi told reporters in Tirana that the diplomats were suspected of “involvement in activities that harm the country’s security” and for “violating their diplomatic status.”
A member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, (Mojahedine Khalq) told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Albanian authorities had expelled Iranian diplomats following the involvement of the Iranian embassy in an attack plot targeting the organization in the outskirts of Tirana.
He noted that the Albanian move was made after foiling a plot to attack a celebration organized by Mojahedine Khalq with a car bomb in March. The Albanian media, however, pointed to an attempt to target a match for the Albanian and Israeli teams in Tirana in the last World Cup qualifiers.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Tirana said that US President Donald Trump has thanked Albania for expelling the Iranian diplomats for threatening Albania’s security.
Trump’s letter to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, dated Dec. 14, thanked him “for your steadfast efforts to stand up to Iran and to counter its destabilizing activities and efforts to silence dissidents around the globe,” as stated by the embassy.
Iran, for its part, said the decision was based on “fabricated intelligence” and was taken under pressure from Israel and the United States, AFP reported.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said that the step was “aimed at damaging Iran’s relations with Europe at this sensitive time.”
“It is clear that this is a measure taken under pressure from Israel and America ... We expect Albania to respect its independence,” he added.
