Iran summons French, Belgian, German envoys in Tehran: Fars

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Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the French and Belgian ambassadors and Germany’s charge d’affaires in protest over the arrest of an Iranian diplomat in Germany, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the ministry.

"The Iranian deputy foreign minister expressed the Islamic Republic’s strong protest over the arrest of an Iranian diplomat and emphasized that due to the immunity of diplomats in the Vienna Convention, he should be released without any delay and with no condition,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.

He added the arrest was a plot to damage Iranian-European ties, especially at a time when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was in Europe to save an international nuclear deal following Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark accord.

Belgium, France and Germany detained six people over the alleged plan to bomb a weekend rally of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) – an exiled Iranian opposition group – in the Paris suburb of Villepinte.

The move was promptly condemned by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as "a sinister false flag ploy."

A bomb disposal expert is seen searching a car in the Brussels' commune of Woluwe St Pierre, June 30, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Iran has also accused MEK of orchestrating the alleged plot to bomb one of its own rallies, saying a couple arrested in Belgium were actually members of the exiled opposition group.

Tehran has dismissed accusations it was behind the plot. In a fresh statement, the foreign ministry said it was the People's Mujahedeen itself that was behind the "scenario."

"Based on the information available, the individuals arrested in Belgium are among the ... notorious and operational elements" of the MEK, the ministry said on its website.

"Relevant Iranian authorities are prepared to offer the necessary cooperation by presenting the required documents and evidence to shed light on the real dimensions of this pre-planned scenario orchestrated by the terrorist group," it said.

French and Belgian authorities said on Monday a Belgian couple of Iranian origin had been arrested in Belgium on suspicion of planning the attack. The others arrested included a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat.

The People's Mujahedeen was founded in 1965 and has been banned in Iran since 1981. It was listed as a "terrorist organization" by the US State Department in 1997 and was only removed from terror watchlists by the European Union in 2008 and Washington in 2012.

The rally on Saturday was attended by thousands of people and attracted several US politicians, including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now President Donald Trump's personal lawyer.

(With input from agencies)