“I believe that this is a step aimed at harming Iran’s ties with Europe at such a sensitive time,” the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying. “Obviously this is a measure which has been taken under Israel and America’s pressure …. We expect Albania to respect its own independence,” he said. Israel regards the Islamic republic as its most dangerous enemy and has backed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision in May to exit a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers that followed reimposition of sanctions on Tehran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi
The European Union, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, participants with the United States in the 2015 deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, have been trying to find ways to circumvent the U.S. limitations. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, who played a major role in Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran, backed Albania’s decision.
“Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania just expelled the Iranian ambassador, signaling to Iran’s leaders that their support for terrorism will not be tolerated,” Bolton said in a Twitter post. “We stand with PM Rama and the Albanian people as they stand up to Iran’s reckless behavior in Europe and across the globe,” he said.
