Iran ministry protests over arrests in U.S. of its nationals

(Reuters) - Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents U.S. interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the U.S. of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

U.S. prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. The U.S. blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.

Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.

Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the U.S. government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.

([email protected]; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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