Attack on Iranian Embassy Staff in Greece with Cold Weapon; Tehran Protests

Following an attack by an 'unknown' individual on one of the staff members of the Iranian embassy in Greece, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic summoned the Greek chargé d'affaires in Tehran. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Tehran's 'strong protest' regarding this incident has been communicated to the Greek chargé d'affaires. The official news agency of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic reported that the summoning of the Greek chargé d'affaires, which occurred in the absence of the country's ambassador, took place after an attack on Wednesday afternoon by an unknown individual with a cold weapon on one of the staff members of the Iranian embassy. According to the report, this attack occurred on one of the streets near the Iranian embassy in Athens, and the mentioned staff member has been hospitalized due to injuries. The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country's news agencies did not mention the extent of the injuries to the embassy staff member or their current condition. However, as Mr. Qasemi stated, the Director General of Protocol of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 'communicated a strong protest... and called for an immediate investigation into the matter and the identification of the identity and motives of the assailant.' The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reminded the Greek chargé d'affaires of the necessity to 'ensure the security of the embassy and its staff.' In Esfand 1396 (March 2018), there were also two attacks on the Iranian embassy in London and the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Vienna. The attack on Esfand 17 involved a number of supporters of Ayatollah Sadegh Shirazi protesting against the arrest of Seyyed Hossein Shirazi, the son of Ayatollah Sadegh Shirazi, a religious authority. The British police eventually arrested the assailants. In protest against this attack, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Nicholas Hopton, the British ambassador in Tehran, and various officials of the Islamic Republic accused the British police of 'negligence' in arresting the assailants. Ali Akbar Velayati, the international relations advisor to the leader of the Islamic Republic, accused London of 'failure' to maintain the security of the Iranian embassy and stated: 'It is not unlikely that these individuals are connected to certain factions in England.' According to Mr. Velayati, the British government 'could have prevented' the attack on the Iranian embassy if it had wanted to. Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, also asserted that the London police had 'collaborated' with the assailants. On Esfand 21, an Egyptian-born Austrian national, later identified as 'Mohammad E. M.', attacked the guard of the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna with a knife. According to Austrian media reports, the guard initially attempted to stop the assailant with pepper spray, but when that failed, he used his weapon. According to police reports, the guard shot four bullets at the assailant, stopping him, and the assailant died at the scene. As the spokesperson for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated to the country's official news agency, Abadollah Molaei, the Iranian ambassador, was at his residence with his wife and two children at the time of the attack. Although the Austrian Ministry of Defense announced the addition of another soldier as a guard for the Iranian embassy, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested that the Austrian government address this issue as soon as possible and 'pay more attention to the protection of Iranian diplomatic locations in this country.' Iran has made these requests while, since the 1979 revolution, there have been at least three attacks on the embassies of the United States, Britain, and Saudi Arabia in Tehran.