Security beefed up at Swiss embassy in Iran

AFP: Security has been beefed up around Switzerland’s embassy in Iran, which also represents US interests, following “heightened threats”, the Swiss foreign ministry said Sunday. GENEVA, Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Security has been beefed up around Switzerland’s embassy in Iran, which also represents US interests, following “heightened threats”, the Swiss foreign ministry said Sunday.

“Security measures were reinforced these last weeks,” foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Philippe Jeannerat told AFP, following a report by the Swiss weekly “Suedostschweiz am Sonntag” which described “concrete threats” against the embassy.

The reinforcements follow a security examination of all Switzerland’s diplomatic buildings in the Middle East since the July-August conflict in Lebanon, Jeannerat said.

“The analysis showed that some faced higher risks and that their security had to be improved,” he said. “That was the case in Iran.”

The official would not comment on Suedostschweiz am Sonntag’s description of Switzerland’s envoy to Tehran, Philippe Welti, as being targeted by the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

The weekly said the threats reflected heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program.

Switzerland represents US interests in Tehran and facilitates diplomatic contacts between the two countries, which severed diplomatic ties after the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.