Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Sunday that Iraqi government failed to fulfill promises to free abducted Iranians in Iraq, the local satellite Press TV reported.
It (Iraqi government) is not doing nearly enough to fulfill its promises regarding the fate of the abducted Iranian diplomats, the report quoted Mottaki as saying, Xinhua reported.
"We are seriously disappointed with Iraq's failure in freeing the Iranian diplomats and facilitating their immediate return to their country," said Mottaki, according to Press TV.
In January 2007, U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members.
The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open the consulate' s gate before seizing documents and computers during the operation.
The operation was "part of an ongoing effort by coalition forces targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and coalition forces," the military said, a claim which Tehran has persistently denied.
Reportedly, 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 U.S. military to deliver more than 1,500 prisoners, including the non-Iraqi nationals, to the Baghdad government, after it leaves the security of Iraqi cities to Iraqi police. Enditem