Iranian embassy in Belgium rejects Western media claims as ridiculous
In Brussels, the Iranian embassy described recent Western media allegations about Iranian diplomat Assadollah Asadi as ridiculous and attempting to undermine Iran-Europe relations.
In July 2018, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visiting Austria and Switzerland, Belgium claimed that it had arrested an Iranian diplomat named Assadollah Asadi based in Vienna on suspicion of attempting to bomb an MKO meeting in Paris.
Recently, some Western media outlets have made allegations that they claimed that the diplomat had threatened the Belgian government.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Belgium rejected unfounded reports concerning Iranian diplomat illegally incarcerated in Antwerp and noted that media outlets are struggling to damage Iran-Europe relations.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg follows with concern the unfounded reports concerning the Iranian diplomat illegally incarcerated in Antwerp that has been published on some websites since 9 October and is surprised at how contorted and divorced from reality such reports are, biased to say the least.
The Iranian diplomat has rejected such allegations and maintained that he never made any threats against Belgium. The case law has also rejected allegations of threats.
Any hint at reprisal made by the media is patently absurd and an attempt to take the issue beyond its case limits with the broader aim of instrumentalizing this judicial proceeding to implicate the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Embassy advises against the media hyperbole that is aimed at torpedoing Iran-Europe relations.
A few days ago, the Western media outlets claimed that Assadollah Asadi had threatened Belgian officials that unknown groups would retaliate if he were found guilty.
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