Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador Sunday to protest U.S. espionage networks recently uncovered in the country, state television reported, according to AP. The broadcast said Ahmad Sobhani, head of American affairs for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, met with Swiss Ambassador Philippe Welti and demanded «necessary explanation» of U.S. espionage networks Iran announced it had uncovered Saturday. «Recently, several espionage networks were identified that were active, under guidance of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, to commit infiltration and sabotage in western, central and southwestern areas of the country,» the television quoted Sobhani as saying during the meeting. The Swiss embassy has been working as the U.S. interest section in Iran ever since Washington broke its diplomatic ties with the country in 1979 when Iranian students stormed its embassy in Tehran. The diplomatic protest came a day before an ambassador-level meeting between the U.S. and Iran in Baghdad to discuss the security situation in Iraq. Monday's talks, which both sides say will focus solely on Iraq, are the first of their kind and a small sign that Washington thinks rapprochement is possible after nearly three decades of animosity.
