TIRANA: Albania has ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats for “activities that go against their status,” the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, in the latest breakdown of ties between the two countries.
Tirana had already kicked out Iran’s ambassador and another diplomat in 2018 after accusing them of threatening national security.
The foreign ministry did not specify the reason for the latest expulsions, which come after the chief of Iran’s Quds force, Qasem Soleimani, was killed by an American drone strike earlier this month, ratcheting up tensions around the globe.
“The two diplomatic representatives of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Albania, Mohammad Ali Arz Peimanemati and Seyed Ahmad Hosseini Alast, are declared persona non grata and Albanian authorities have asked them to leave Albania immediately,” the statement said.
The move comes several months after authorities announced in October 2019 that they had thwarted an attack planned by a “terrorist cell” run by Quds.
At the time, Albanian authorities said the cell was planning to attack opponents of the Tehran regime who are based in the Balkan country.
In 2013, Albania agreed to take in some 3,000 members of the exiled Iranian opposition group the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) at the request of Washington and the United Nations.
They currently live in a compound in the northwest of the country.
Albania, host of Iranian dissident camp, expels two Iranian diplomats
https://arab.news/9xnh3
Albania, host of Iranian dissident camp, expels two Iranian diplomats
- Tirana had already kicked out Iran’s ambassador and another diplomat in 2018 after accusing them of threatening national security
- In 2013, Albania agreed to take in some 3,000 members of the exiled Iranian opposition group the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK)
About 30 people are feared dead after a migrant boat capsized off Crete
- Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers
ATHENS, Greece: About 30 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Crete, Greek authorities and the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday.
The boat, carrying about 50 migrants, capsized 20 nautical miles off the port of Kali Limenes, the southernmost point on Crete, on Saturday. Three men were found dead that day and a woman’s body was found floating at sea on Sunday.
No other survivors or victims have been found since. Passing ships are continuing to search the waters, a coast guard spokesperson told The Associated Press Monday.
The capsized boat had left Tobruk, Libya on Thursday, according to survivors. There were high winds in the area Saturday.
Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers.
“Just two months into 2026, at least 606 migrants have already been reported dead or missing along the Mediterranean route, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. This marks the deadliest start to a year in the Mediterranean since IOM began recording such data in 2014,” the UN office said in a statement Monday.
“IOM warns that trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the Central Mediterranean route, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to severe abuse and protection risks,” the statement continues.
“Stronger international cooperation and protection-centered responses are key to tackling these criminal networks and expanding safe and regular pathways to reduce risks and save lives,” it added.
