Special report:
Tension
escalates in Iraq
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Tuesday that U.S.
troops in Iraq have nothing to do with the Sunday kidnapping of an Iranian
diplomat in Baghdad, Iraq.
"All we know is that the Iraqi government is investigating it and obviously
we abide by and support the Vienna convention for the diplomats, but we don't
really know a lot about it at this point," White House spokesman Tony Snow said
at a news briefing.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that its second secretary at the
Iranian Embassy in Baghdad Jalal Sharafi was kidnapped Sunday by gunmen linked
to the Iraqi Defense Ministry.
The incident came as tensions between Iran and the United States were
running high over the Iranian role in Iraq and the alleged Iran's ambition to
develop nuclear weapons.
Iran accused the U.S. forces in Iraq of "supervising the (kidnapping)
operation," saying "Iran holds America responsible for the safety and life of
the (abducted) diplomat."
"This aggressive action violates the international law and Iran strongly
condemns it," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
Tehran always denies involvement in the violence in Iraq. But U.S.
officials have said they have evidence many of the deadly projectile bombs used
in Iraq were made in Iran.
Iran and the United States severed diplomatic relations since 1979 when
Iranian protesters seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and kept 52 people hostage
for 444 days.
Related:
Iran says diplomat in Iraq abducted
under U.S. supervision
TEHRAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini Tuesday condemned the kidnapping of an Iranian
diplomat in Iraq, saying it was operated under the supervision of U.S. forces
there, the state media reported.
"Second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad Jalal
Sharafi was kidnapped Sunday by gunmen linked to the Iraqi Defense Ministry,"
Hosseini was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. Full story>>
Gunmen kidnap Iranian diplomat in
Baghdad
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Iraqi soldiers check motorists at a
checkpoint in Baghdad, Feb. 6, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
BAGHDAD, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen in Iraqi army uniforms kidnapped a
senior Iranian diplomat in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi government official said on
Tuesday.
Some 30 gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms in more
than 10 military vehicles kidnapped the second secretary of the Iranian embassy
in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood on Sunday, said the official who declined to
be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Full story>>
