according the secular Dari-language newspaper, Hasht-e-Sobh.
Ambassador Abolfaz Zohrevand and a fellow Iranian diplomat, named only as Javedan, have been summoned to Tehran by the Foreign Ministry for “inefficiency,” the Afghan daily reports, citing “reliable sources.”
The Iranian government has not denied the report.
Afghan media and politicians had reported earlier that Ambassador Zohrevand lobbied both houses of the Afghan parliament not to approve the strategic partnership agreement that President Hamid Karzai had signed with US President Barack Obama. His comments were met with fierce criticism from all sides of the Afghan political spectrum. Many accused the diplomat of interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
Earlier, President Karzai’s office publicly criticized Ambassador Zohrevand for his “arrogant” behavior as he was presenting his credentials to the Afghan president.
The Zohrevand controversy is the latest in a series of public differences between the two neighbors. Previous exchanges have ranged from cross-border mortar shelling to differences over the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
Lobbying a government to change its policies, such as Zohrevand is accused of doing, is not interference in another state’s affairs. In Washington, many embassies have staff assigned specifically to lobby Congress for legislative provisions their governments have an interest in.