Foreign Minister Claims Iran ‘Completely Safe’ For Tourists

After Tehran exchanged Western hostages with its convicted diplomat, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claims Iran is "completely safe" for tourists.

He wrote on Twitter Saturday that “if some European citizens are not exploited by foreign security services, there is no reason to arrest them.”

Over the years Iran has detained and accused dozens of Western visitors of espionage, while using them effectively as hostages to squeeze concessions from the West. Detainees do not receive fair legal protection and face sham trials.

On Friday, two Iranian-Austrian citizens named Kamran Qaderi and Masoud Mosaheb and a Danish individual imprisoned in Iran were released in the framework of a recent prisoner exchange agreement with Belgium mediated by Oman.

A week ago, Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian aid worker, returned to his country in exchange for the release of Assadollah Asadi, an Iranian agent disguised as a diplomat in Europe who was convicted of a terror plot in France in 2018.

In another development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan in a statement on Saturday asked its citizens not to travel to Iran.

Baku also asked its citizens who are now in Iran to observe security measures more than before.

Tensions have been high between Iran and Azerbaijan since November 2022 when both sides accused each other of engaging in terrorism and espionage.

Azerbaijan closed its embassy in Tehran after an armed attack on its embassy in Tehran in January and then expelled four Iranian diplomats over what it called “provocative actions.

Tehran has also accused Baku of harboring Israeli intelligence and military elements that plan to use its territory in a possible attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.