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German police culpable in attack on Iran Embassy: Ambassador

30 November 2012 00:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. ran’s ambassador to Germany has criticized the German police for inaction over the recent attack on Iran Embassy in Berlin, saying the police is to blame for its negligence, APA reports quoting Press TV.

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Alireza Sheikh-Attar pointed to previous alarming calls to the Iranian diplomats in Berlin which warned them of a potential attack against the embassy.

Following the warnings, the Iranian Embassy contacted the German police three times on Wednesday morning, but the police assured them that they have everything under control, Sheikh-Attar said.

“But it (the attack) happened at two o’clock. They (German police) were not present here and they came only after 11 minutes,” he added.

The Iranian ambassador noted that the attackers were carrying a lot of tools such as ladders, saws and special scissors and after they climbed into the building, they splashed paint on the walls and used insulting words against the embassy staff.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of assailants entered the yard of Iran Embassy in Berlin. The German police said about 30 were involved in the incident.

According to Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, a number of the assailants have been arrested and would be put on trial.

Later on Wednesday, in a telephone conversation with Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Westerwelle strongly condemned the attack and pledged to take measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

“Vienna Convention, which is about the duties of governments for hosting the diplomatic missions, explicitly mentions the responsibilities of the hosting country, and the major responsibility is protection of diplomatic missions, buildings and diplomats,” Sheikh-Attar pointed out.

He called on the German government to “prevent illegal activities against the diplomatic missions, because it is not only Iran. It is also a problem for the security of Germany.”