The two German nationals, who had entered the country on tourist visas, were arrested in Iran for trying to interview relatives of Sakineh Ashtiani without having obtained journalistic credentials. Sakineh Ashtiani has been convicted of adultery and murder.
It is obvious that they have committed a crime but the court should make the final decision, Mehmanparast told a regular press briefing.
He also said Tehran has made it possible for the German embassy to have access to the two nationals and a request by the detainees’ parents to visit their children is under examination.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Mehmanparast criticized the West for being nonchalant about the recent terrorist attacks on two Iranian scientists.
“Western countries should be held accountable for the assassination of the Iranian scientists,” he said, adding their silence will further shock the world.
“Why do not Western countries condemn such terror acts and instead increase support for terrorist groups and shelter them in their countries?” he asked in an indirect reference to the presence of Mojahedin Khalq Organization members in Europe.
He said the fact that the names of Iranian nuclear scientists are on the list of UN resolutions can be a very worrying signal.
The spokesperson said the Iranian foreign minister would send a letter to the foreign ministers of certain Western countries about the recent terrorist attacks in Tehran.
The officials of these countries must clarify their position on the issue, he stated.
Mehmanparast said Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili discussed the issue with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton during their talks in Geneva on Monday.
On November 29, two prominent physicists were targeted by terrorists in two separate bombings. Professor Majid Shahriari was killed and Professor Fereydoun Abbasi Davani was injured in the attacks. The two academics were both on their way to work at Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran when they were attacked. The police say that in both incidents, terrorists riding motorcycles attached magnetic bombs to the physicists’ cars.
AA/PA
END
MNA