Ljubljana/Tehran - The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Slovenia's Ambassador to Iran Kristina Radej over Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša's recent calls for an inquiry into a 1988 massacre in Iran at Free Iran World Summit. Tehran condemned Janša's appearance at the summit and asked for an explanation from the Slovenian government.

Reports by Iran's IRNA news agency that the country's Foreign Ministry summoned on Sunday the Slovenian ambassador in Tehran have been confirmed by the ministry in a press release. The reason for the step is Janša's video address at a recent Free Iran World Summit, an annual global event organised by the Iranian diaspora, which Tehran described as an online meeting of "the MKO [Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization] terrorist group".

The ministry condemned Janša's appearance at the summit during the talk with Ambassador Radej. Iran's deputy foreign minister and director-general of the ministry's department of the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe told the ambassador that Janša's statements during the appearance were "wrong and groundless, against diplomatic norms and spirit of bilateral relations".

"The official expressed strong protest at this act and baseless allegations raised against Iran and handed the ambassador an official letter of protest," the ministry said.

The Slovenian ambassador was also told that supporting terrorist organisations was not in line with the United Nations Charter, international principles or human rights values.

Radej assured the Iranian authorities that she would inform the Slovenian government about Iran's protest at Janša's statements.

Janša appeared at the virtual summit on Saturday, endorsing an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre. In his video message he expressed support for setting up a UN-led commission of inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of 30,000 political prisoners after the move had been called for by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman.

Janša, the prime minister of a country that is currently at the helm of the Council of the EU, said "this is especially important in light of the fact that the regime's next president will be Ebrahim Raisi, who is accused by Amnesty International of crimes against humanity for his role in the massacre".

"The Iranian regime must be held accountable for human rights violations and the international community must be more firm on this," he said.

The STA has put a number of queries regarding the developments to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry and awaits the answers.