Iran summons Swiss envoy, holds U.S. responsible for abduction of nationals in Syria

TEHRAN,Aug.8(MNA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss chargé d’affaires on Monday to protest about the United States’ support for armed rebels in Syria, a group of whom has recently abducted a number of Iranian nationals. Iran and the United States do not have diplomatic relations and the Swiss Embassy in Tehran hosts the U.S. Interests Section in Iran. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, 47 Iranian pilgrims were abducted near a shrine in the suburb of Sayyida Zainab on Saturday. However, some media outlets have put the number at 48, given that one of the abductees is reportedly a non-Iranian national. They were reportedly kidnapped by Free Syrian Army fighters. Some reports have claimed that three of the abducted people were killed on Monday. Iran has not confirmed the reports. And Iran has dismissed claims that the abductees are military forces. During his meeting with the Swiss official, the director general of the North American Affairs Department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Reza Zabib, said that given the support of the United States for armed rebel groups in Syria, the U.S. government is responsible for protecting the lives of the abducted Iranians. It is expected that the U.S. government will use its influence with the kidnappers to obtain an immediate and unconditional release of the Iranian nationals, he stated. The Swiss chargé d’affaires said that Iran’s protest would be conveyed to the U.S. government as soon as possible and the result would be announced to Iranian officials.