Iran hails expulsion of Israeli ambassador from Turkey

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) — The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday hailed the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and other senior diplomats from Turkey following the publication of a UN report about the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called for the prevention of Israeli influence on changing the results of the international independent investigation of the May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid. Iran also stressed that the United Nations (UN) should prevent Israel’s ‘meddling’ in the UN reports on Gaza.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced on Friday that Israel’s ambassador and senior diplomats have been expelled from the country after Israel refused to apologize regarding the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists died. Davutoğlu also said that all military ties with Israel will be suspended.

“Iran welcomes the expulsion of the Zionist regime’s ambassador to Ankara,” the statement issued by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that Israel is attempting to change the results of the UN Palmer Report and to ‘distort reality.’

The UN report, released on Friday after repeated delays, stated that the naval blockade was “imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”

However, it also stated that Israel’s decision to board the vessels with “such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding was excessive and unreasonable.”

Because the UN report said the Gaza blockade is legal, Tehran denounced the UN report. The statement said the contents of the report surprised several diplomatic circles since it justified Israel’s “illegal and inhuman acts” during the Gaza siege. As a result, Iran questioned how much influence Israel had in the report.

In May 2010, nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed and dozens more were injured when Israeli commandos boarded a ship participating in the ‘Freedom Flotilla I’, which was heading to the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid on board. The incident caused global outrage over alleged excessive force, but Israel has denied that and said its commandos were being attacked.

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19877/update-1-iran-hails-expulsion-of-israeli-ambassador-from-turkey/.