Iran summons Swedish, German ambassadors for diplomatic offenses

The Iranian foreign ministry summons Germany’s ambassador to object to “inappropriate statements” from Berlin, a reference to recent critical remarks by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

After a meeting with the visiting Iraqi prime minister on Tuesday, Merz demanded Iran lift its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, cease its support for armed groups across the region and put an end to its “military nuclear program,” which Tehran has consistently denied pursuing.

The Iranian ministry says in a statement that Ambassador Axel Wilhelm Dittmann was called in following the “inappropriate statements by senior German officials against Iran, as well as certain interventionist actions by the German embassy in Tehran.”

Separately, Iran gives a Swedish diplomat in Tehran 48 hours to leave the country, after Sweden expelled a staff member from the Iranian embassy in Stockholm yesterday.

The Swedish ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran to protest against the Swedish decision, which was “unjustified and contrary to international law,” Iran’s foreign ministry says, in a statement broadcast by state television.

Swedish authorities yesterday accused Iran of having long “conducted activities that threaten security in and against Sweden, targeting both individuals who oppose the Iranian regime and various Jewish and Israeli interests in our country.”

Iran calls the accusations “baseless.”