Iran calls for restraint, dialogue after Ecuador raid on Mexican embassy

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called for restraint after a recent move by Ecuadoran police to raid Mexico's embassy in the capital Quito, underscoring the necessity of respecting and safeguarding the immunity of diplomatic facilities.

Ecuador’s special forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito’s financial district late on Friday to arrest a controversial politician who had been granted political asylum there.

Equipped with a battering ram, the forces surrounded the Mexican embassy and some of them scaled the walls to enter the diplomatic compounds and apprehend Ecuador’s former Vice President Jorge Glas, who has been inside since seeking political asylum in December over corruption allegations.

Nasser Kan’ani, spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, described in a message on Sunday as “worrying” the news of the aggression on the Mexican embassy and emphasized the importance and necessity of “respecting the immunity and guaranteeing the safety and security” of diplomatic and consular places.

Placing a premium on the host government’s commitment to maintaining and protecting the immunity and security of diplomatic and consular places, Kan’ani called on the Ecuadorian and Mexican governments to hold talks to resolve their differences.

Video circulating on social media showed 54-year-old Glas, flanked by heavily armed soldiers, being taken by a police convoy to the airport in Quito to board a plane en route to a jail.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blasted the unusual diplomatic incursion and arrest as an “authoritarian” act as well as a breach of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.

In a post on his X social media account, Obrador announced Mexico’s suspension of diplomatic ties with Ecuador after the embassy breach.

Meanwhile, Latin American countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela sharply rebuked Ecuador’s move on Saturday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, also said the Secretary-General was "alarmed" by Ecuadoran police raiding Mexico's embassy in Quito, stressing the importance of maintaining the inviolability of diplomatic compounds.

The spokesperson said that the inviolability of embassies must be respected "in all cases, in accordance with international law," reaffirming the need for Ecuador and Mexico to "solve their differences through peaceful means."

The secretary-general stresses that violations of this principle jeopardize the pursuit of normal international relations, which are critical for the advancement of cooperation between states, according to Dujarric.

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