TIRANA: Albania said Wednesday it has expelled two Iranian diplomats for security reasons, with US officials identifying one as the ambassador and saying the pair plotted “terrorist attacks” in the Balkan country.
The diplomats were suspected of “involvement in activities that harm the country’s security,” Albania’s Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Edlira Prendi told reporters, adding that the decision was taken in consultation with other countries.
She declined to provide the diplomats’ names or elaborate on the nature of their alleged offense.
But in a statement welcoming the move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the diplomats as “two Iranian agents who plotted terrorist attacks in Albania.”
US National Security Adviser John Bolton also identified one of the diplomats as the ambassador.
“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 wrote on Twitter.
He added: “We stand with PM Rama and the Albanian people as they stand up to Iran’s reckless behavior in Europe and across the globe.”
An Albanian TV station, Top Channel, reported that the Iranians were suspected of links to an alleged plot to attack a 2016 World Cup match between Albania and Israel.
After the match some 20 people were arrested in Albania and Kosovo in connection with the alleged plot.
At the request of US authorities and the UN in 2013, Albania agreed to take in some 3,000 members of Iranian opposition group known as The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).
Their relocation from a camp in Iraq was completed in 2016 when the last 280 people left for Albania. They currently live in a compound in the northwest of the country.
Albania expels Iranian diplomats for ‘harming security’
Albania expels Iranian diplomats for ‘harming security’
- “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 wrote on Twitter
Suspect in Michigan synagogue attack is dead, AP source says
- The person confirmed the death at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township
- Patel said agents were on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue
MICHIGAN, USA: The suspect in an attack on a synagogue in Michigan is dead, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, after a sheriff said security at the largest Reform Synagogue in the US had engaged in gunfire.
The person confirmed the death at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, but did not provide additional details. The person could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The person said no one else was reported injured.
Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed during an earlier news conference that security at the synagogue had engaged in gunfire with at least one person, and that no one was in custody.
WDIV-TV reported that a truck had crashed into the synagogue. Smoke could be seen billowing from the synagogue’s roof. Footage from the scene shows dozens of police vehicles surrounding the building.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s office said authorities are clearing the building. About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning center inside the building after getting approval from police. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying she was tracking developments.
“This is heartbreaking,” the governor said. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
Temple Israel calls itself the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, with 12,000 members. according to its website. It has an early childhood education center and offers educational programs for families and adults.
The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.”
