Germany must formally apologize to Iran

Germany must apologize to Iran over embassy attack: Lawmaker

The German government should officially apologize to the Islamic Republic over the recent attack by a group of assailants on Iran Embassy in Berlin and bring the culprits to justice, an Iranian lawmaker says.

In a Thursday interview, Spokesmen of Iran Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini condemned the Wednesday incident, adding, “Mere expression of regret by Germany’s Foreign Minister [Guido Westerwelle] is not enough and, apart from compensating for losses to [Iran’s] assets and prestige, the government of this country (Germany) should officially apologize [to Iran].”

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of assailants entered the yard of Iran Embassy in Berlin and sprayed color on its walls. Berlin police said about 30 were involved in the incident.

Later in the day, 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.

The Iranian lawmaker argued that every country’s embassy is considered part of its territory and based on all international diplomatic conventions, the government of the host country is responsible for providing the security of the premises.

Naqavi stated that in yesterday incident, although the Iranian officials had informed the German police, the police did not act on time and arrived there after the attack.

“This proves the negligence of the German government which should be held accountable and compensate for the losses,” the Iranian legislator pointed out.