Tehran, July 05: Iran takes a swipe at the Baghdad government, saying it has failed to secure the release of the Iranian diplomats taken hostage by US forces in Iraq two years ago.
Iranian Foreign Ministry, Manouchehr Mottaki, said Sunday that Iraqi government is not doing nearly enough to fulfill its promises regarding the fate of the abducted Iranian diplomats.
“We are seriously disappointed with Iraq’s failure in freeing the Iranian diplomats and facilitating their immediate return to their country,” said Mottaki.
The Iranian diplomats were abducted when US military troops attacked the Iranian consulate office in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
The US troops ransacked the place, arrested six consular staff, which they took away along with the consulate’s computers and documents to an unknown place.
Iraqi officials had announced on Tuesday that the Iranian diplomats would be released under the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) — which requires the US military to deliver more than 1500 prisoners, including the non-Iraqi nationals, to the Baghdad government.
Mohsen Hakim, the Tehran representative of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, had also asserted that the Iranian diplomats would be handed to the Iraqi government.
Despite Iraq’s many promises, the release of Iranian diplomats has yet to be secured.
—–Agencies