Iranian Embassy doors forced open by police after expulsion

On Thursday, Albanian special forces police broke down the entrance of the Iranian Embassy in Tirana and encircled the building’s grounds just after the final employees had departed the structure after the government ordered their removal.

Other cops carrying equipment and being led by a dog then entered the premises after the officers wearing full fighting gear.

In response to a significant cyberattack that the Albanian government accuses Iran of carrying out, the Albanian government on Wednesday gave the embassy’s workers 24 hours to leave the country. It is the first instance that has been documented of a nation severing diplomatic ties over a cyberattack.

After a lot of activity within the building overnight, the final two embassy cars with roughly 10 occupants exited the premises on Thursday at about midday.

The Iranian embassy in Tirana had been bustling constantly all night. At one time an empty barrel was brought into the property where a fire was lit burning documents.

Numerous digital services and websites run by the Albanian government were momentarily unavailable due to a cyberattack on July 15. There is undeniable proof, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama, that the Iranian government was responsible for the attack.

Along with Albania, the European Union condemned the hack and pledged full solidarity.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry refuted in a statement that Tehran was responsible for any hack on the websites of the Albanian government, saying that Iran is the victim of such attacks on its vital infrastructure.

Iran and Albania have had tight relations ever since Albania provided asylum to over 3,000 MEK (Mujahedeen-e-Khalq), an Iranian dissident organization that had fled Iraq, in 2014.

Tirana dismissed four Iranian diplomats twice, in 2020 and 2018, for threatening national security.

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