Zionists Responsible for 1982 Abduction of Iranian Diplomats: Foreign Ministry

In the statement, released on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the anniversary of abduction of the four Iranian diplomats symbolizes the gross violation of all the provisions of the Vienna Convention (1961) known as diplomatic rights and immunity that are reserved for all diplomats.

“Forty years ago, in 1982, four Iranian diplomats named Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Ahmad Motevaselian, Kazem Akhavan and Taghi Rastegar Moghaddam were kidnapped by the mercenaries of the Zionist regime in an area in Lebanon that was under the Israeli occupation back then,” it said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran always holds the Zionist regime and its backers responsible politically and legally for the kidnapping and for that act of terrorism. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has made relentless efforts in this regard and has pursued all legal channels that made the then UN secretary general to declare readiness for cooperation in 2008, but unfortunately, the international community and rights groups have failed to cooperate with Iran appropriately to find out what happened to the Iranian diplomats. The Zionist regime, which is not bound by any international law or humanitarian laws, has always dodged its responsibility in this respect amid the international silence toward the regime’s crimes,” the statement added.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran expects all rights organizations and the UN to take required measures by using appropriate mechanisms to force the Zionist regime into cooperating to the full in order to determine the fate of the dear diplomats and pave the way for the punishment of the perpetrators of the crime and the violators of the diplomatic rights,” it added.

“While appreciating the efforts of the Republic of Lebanon to determine the fate of the abducted Iranian diplomats, the Islamic Republic stresses the need for the formation of a fact-finding committee by the two sides and in cooperation with international bodies,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“On the 40th anniversary of the abduction of the 4 Iranian diplomats by the mercenaries of the Zionist regime in Lebanon, the Foreign Ministry commemorates the memory of these dear diplomats and sympathizes with their honorable families. The Foreign Ministry also hereby declares that it will continue its efforts to determine the fate of the kidnapped diplomats and is diligently pursuing the matter,” the statement noted.