In a statement issued on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi condemned as ‘arbitrary’ the US government’s seizure
and searches of three Russian diplomatic missions in Washington, saying such
moves are in violation of international norms and regulations.
"The US government’s seizure of, or threat to use force
against the diplomatic properties of foreign countries on the American soil
sets a dangerous precedent,” he stressed.
Ghasemi went on to add, "it goes to show that from now on,
no country’s diplomatic missions on US soil will have enough guarantees from
the US government that they will have immunity.”
On August 31, Washington demanded that Moscow close down its
Consulate General in San Francisco and two other diplomatic entities in New
York City and Washington DC. Two days later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said
that US Security services had invaded Russian diplomatic facilities and
conducted an ‘examination’ of the premises.
The US decision came after Russia announced in July that the
diplomatic presence of the US in Russia would be scaled down by 755 people to
455, the same number of diplomatic personnel Russia has in the US. In late
2016, 35 Russian diplomats were expelled from Washington.
