TEHRAN: Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that Tehran will not accept a new Swedish envoy following the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in the Scandinavian country, the second such incident in the recent past.
“The Swedish envoy in Iran has finished his mission, and Iran will not accept the new Swedish envoy, who is supposed to arrive in Iran over the next few days until Sweden takes serious actions against the person who insults the Holy Quran,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said.
Holy Qur’an Desecration: Tehran to not Accept New Swedish Envoy
The remarks by Iranian FM Amir-Abdollahian come a few hours after his phone call with his Swedish Foreign Minister on Friday evening, during which he called for taking legal action against the person who insults the Holy Quran and bringing him into justice.
“The person who committed this unpardonable insult must be arrested, tried, and held to account for his acts. Otherwise, Sweden has to wait for the decisive decisions of the Islamic nations,” the Iranian FM told Tobias Billström.
Pakistan, KSA Strongly Condemn Islamophobic act of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden
Earlier, many countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq strongly condemned the incident in Sweden. Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs described it as “an act that is a systematic incitement of the feelings of millions of Muslims across the world.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would summon the charge d’affaires of the Swedish embassy to hand over him a protest note with the KSA’s demand to Sweden to take all necessary and immediate steps to prevent these disgraceful acts, which violate all religious teachings, and global laws and norms.
Iraq Expels Swedish Ambassador
Several other nations have also summoned their Swedish diplomats, with Iraq expelling the Swedish ambassador earlier on Thursday.
Similarly, Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the Islamophobic act of public desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson said, “Permission to carry out premeditated and provocative acts of religious hatred cannot be justified under the guise of freedom of expression, opinion, and protest,”.
The spokesperson reiterated Islamabad’s call on the world to unambiguously condemn these Islamophobic acts, isolate those who fuel religious hatred, build deterrence, and promote mutual respect, tolerance, and harmony among religions, faiths, and cultures.
