Hezbollah posting

Tehran defends ambassador in Austria

The Iranian ambassador in Vienna receives backing from his home country after his controversial Hezbollah posting (symbolic image).(Bild: AFP/AFP, x.com/BagherpourAbbas)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has defended the Iranian ambassador in Vienna following his controversial Hezbollah posting. According to Tehran, the militia is a legitimate liberation and resistance movement against the Israeli occupation.

As reported, the Iranian ambassador in Vienna, Abbas Bagherpour Ardekani, commented on the Lebanese Hezbollah's air strikes on Israel on Sunday. He used the militia's flag on Platform X and wrote that it would be victorious. As Hezbollah and its symbols are banned in Austria, Ardekani was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. Charges were also brought against him.

This reaction cannot be understood in Iran. It is "incompatible with the geopolitical reality in the region" and detrimental to bilateral relations between the two countries, said the Director General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Western Europe. Hezbollah is a legitimate liberation and resistance movement against the Israeli occupation, he added.

Home invited due to protest
On Tuesday, the Austrian ambassador to Iran, Wolf Dietrich Heim, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. The ministry in Vienna confirmed this. He had been summoned to protest against Austria's actions, according to Tehran.