Prime Minister Edi Rama has expelled two Iranian diplomats from Albania, including the Iranian Ambassador. According to Reuters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declined to say when they were expelled and whether they left the country, but cited reasons of “damaging its national security.”
Several media outlets speculated that the security threats were related to the terror threat during the Albania–Israel World Cup qualifying match in 2016, or the fact that Albania houses the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) camp, which has led to intense debate between forces for and against the anti-Iranian government paramilitary group in exile.
The MEK has become increasingly the object of attention of US foreign policy makers as a result of the anti-Iranian policies pursued by the Trump administration.
US government officials, including National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, hailed the move of the Albanian government:
