AP: German police have spoken with an Iranian dissident representative to allay security concerns ahead of the Iran team’s arrival for the soccer World Cup, authorities said Friday. Associated Press
STUTTGART, Germany (AP) – German police have spoken with an Iranian dissident representative to allay security concerns ahead of the Iran team’s arrival for the soccer World Cup, authorities said Friday.
Police met with Javad Dabiran, a German-based representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, to tell him the World Cup should not be used for political actions, said Erwin Hetger, the police chief in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Dabiran, according to the state Interior Ministry, said there would be no demonstrations against the Iranian soccer players _ but that there likely would be peaceful protests if hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad decides to visit.
The Iranian team will be based in the town of Friedrichshafen, on the shores of Lake Constance in Germany’s far south. The players are expected to arrive this weekend.
Authorities have worried previously that Iranian opposition groups, with hundreds of members in Germany, might stage violent protests during the tournament.
Deputy interior minister August Hanning has said that, during talks in Tehran, it was agreed that German and Iranian authorities would cooperate over any possible threats to the Iran team during the World Cup.
The German government has resisted calls to bar Ahmadinejad from the June 9-July 9 tournament for threatening Israel and denying the Holocaust. There has been no firm indication whether he plans to attend.
Iran faces Mexico, Portugal and Angola in first-round Group D.
