The Greek foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday that Iran has lodged a formal diplomatic complaint, démarche, against Athens over PM’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis support for the killing by the US of general Qasem Soleimani last week.
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed that Tehran lodged a démarche, protesting Greece’s stance on the killing, but declined to reveal its content.
He also sought to play down the incident saying that Iran “understands what the broader Greek position is and we understand why Iran wants in this context to raise the issue.”
He added that he his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, asked to talk to him. “I would be glad to hear what he has to tell me.” By the time of writing it is not known whether the telephone call between the ministers took place.
Tehran is upset by the comments made by Mitsotakis last Tuesday during his official visit to Washington. Speaking at the Atlantic Council, the Greek prime minister expressed Athens’s support for the US in executing Soleimani.
He had stated:
“First we are allies with the US. We stand by our allies in difficult times. I understand that this decision was taken in the light of the US national interest and we support that decision. At the same time, we must be fully aware that there are widespread concerns about a possible escalation, and I think efforts must be made now that the US has given a clear signal about the red lines they are willing to draw in order to move towards an initiative that would lessen the tension. And I hope this message is received by everyone. Yes, we have and still have very close ties to the Arab world and consider ourselves honest players in the region, but we do not forget who our allies are and where we belong geopolitically.”
Mitsotakis also came under fire in Greece parties for his statement. Main opposition SYRIZA noted that Mitsotakis “clearly stated that he supports U.S. actions in relation to the execution of the Iranian general in Iraq, becoming the only European leader to make such a move.”
In this way, SYRIZA added, “he puts the country at risk for no reason.”