Iran Rejects Allegation of Interference in US Election

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Photo: Iran's Foreign Ministry
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Photo: Iran's Foreign Ministry
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Iran Rejects Allegation of Interference in US Election

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Photo: Iran's Foreign Ministry
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Photo: Iran's Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani has rejected claims made by US Attorney General Merrick Garland about increasing efforts by some countries, including Iran, to interfere in the US presidential elections.

Kanaani rejected the “hackneyed, baseless and biased” allegations, saying such accusations pursue domestic political objectives in the US.

"We will be relentlessly aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by Russia and Iran, as well as China or any other foreign malign actor, (to) interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy," Garland said earlier this week.

Kanaani reminded the American officials that they cannot heal the rifts and settle their country’s internal problems, which he said have structural, political and social roots, by pinning the blame on others and leveling accusations against the foreign countries.

“The US government, which spearheads illegal interference in the internal affairs of the other independent states and has a litany of such destructive measures on its record, cannot attribute its domestic problems and crises to the other countries by making accusations against them or cover up the dark record of its extrajudicial actions and interference in the internal affairs of the independent states,” he added.



Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
TT

Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the US of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

US prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service members, Reuters reported.

The US blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.

Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.

Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the US government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized US citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.