The US on Friday called for the expulsion of an Iraqi diplomat at the UN for "activities incompatible with his diplomatic status," a US official said. The language is diplomatic code for spying activities.
The US Mission to the UN delivered a note to Iraq's UN Mission asking the diplomat, whom it did not identify, to leave the US by the end of the month. If he refuses to go, well-informed diplomatic sources said he would almost certainly be expelled.
Diplomatic sources identified the Iraqi as Abdul Rahman I.K. Saad, a first secretary in the Iraqi mission who reportedly was trying to recruit Americans. He has been at the mission for less than a year and specialized in economic matters, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US Mission gave Iraq 24 hours to respond to the expulsion request, the US official said, also on condition of anonymity.
Iraq sent a letter to the US Mission on Friday seeking further information, and the US must now decide whether to provide any details, which appeared unlikely, diplomatic sources said. An identical letter was sent to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with a copy of the US note.
Even though the diplomat is accredited to the UN, like all foreign envoys his visa is granted by the US State Department. Under a 1947 agreement between the world body and the US, cases involving an alleged breech of diplomatic immunity are handled between the two countries involved.
"The matter is essentially a bilateral one," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "If Iraq would submit information regarding the US request to the secretary-general or the UN legal counsel, this information would be transmitted to the US Mission."
RSS