Iran summons ambassadors of Germany, Austria

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Iran on Thursday summoned ambassadors from Germany and Austria in response to their reactions to its missile attack on Israel, official news agency IRNA reported.

"German ambassador to Tehran Markus Potzel and Austrian envoy Wolfgang Dietrich Heim were separately called in by the ministry on Thursday in protest at their respective countries' 'unacceptable measures' in summoning Iranian envoys over Operation True Promise 2," the statement said.

"Director General of the Western Europe Department at the Iranian Ministry of Affairs Majid Nili Ahmadabadi said during the meetings that the Islamic Republic is utterly determined to defend its own security," it added.

German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said on Wednesday that the Iranian ambassador was summoned, noting that the ambassador was out of town and that a charge d'affaires had come to the ministry instead.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused Iran of escalating the situation in the Middle East after Tehran unleashed a barrage of missiles on Israel the previous night.

"The Iranian missile attacks on Israel are to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. This threatens a further escalation of the already tense situation in the Middle East," Scholz said in a statement.

Austria also summoned the Iranian ambassador in response to Tehran's missile attack on Israel.