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Iran summons Saudi, Swiss envoys

Iran Materials 15 March 2011 16:32 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned ambassadors of Switzerland and Saudi Arabia over their military interventions in the crisis-hit Bahrain
Iran summons Saudi, Swiss envoys

Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned ambassadors of Switzerland and Saudi Arabia over their military interventions in the crisis-hit Bahrain, reported Press TV.

Iran summoned the Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Livia Leu Agosti on Tuesday over the US support for interference of foreign forces in Bahrain and "baseless" remarks by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates against the Islamic Republic during an unannounced visit to the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Friday evening.

The Islamic Republic expressed its protest over the "illegal" behavior of the US government, reported Iran's Foreign Ministry.

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran represents US interests in Iran since Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic relations in 1980.

"The US support for military intervention is in clear contradiction with international regulations and the United Nations Charter. So, the Islamic Republic holds the United States responsible for dangerous consequences of such illegal attitude," said a Foreign Ministry official.

Following the US defense secretary's visit to Manama, the Persian Gulf littoral state has intensified its violent crackdown on Bahraini protesters.

The Islamic Republic also summoned Bahrain's charge d'affaires over the Saudi invasion.

Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Cooperation Council member states dispatched their armed forces to Bahrain in response to Manama's call for military help to quell public protests.

The United States, which has its Fifth Fleet based there, has declined to term the troops' move into Bahrain as incursion.

At least seven people have lost their lives and hundreds of others have sustained injuries following the Bahraini government's violent crackdown on demonstrators.

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