Iranian media: German ambassador summoned over spying row

Iran summoned German Ambassador Axel Dittmann on Monday to protest what it described as the "contemptible approach" of certain German officials towards the country, Iranian state media reported. 

Foreign Ministry official Alireza Yousefi called the German diplomat to his office to lodge Tehran's "strong protest," according to state broadcaster Press TV.

Yousefi accused certain institutions in Germany of making allegations against Iran to conceal Berlin's support for the US-Israeli war against the country.

The move came just hours after Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador following the conviction of two men for spying for Tehran and preparing attacks in Germany.

Last Thursday, a court in Hamburg sentenced the two men, aged 54 and 43, to eight and a half years and four and a half years in prison, respectively.

The court found that they had spied on Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, on behalf of Iran.

Iran also summoned Ireland's ambassador to Tehran, Aidan Cronin, to protest a series of what it described as "baseless" accusations against the country. Ireland currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Yousefi blamed the current situation in West Asia and the Gulf on the EU's "irresponsible policies."