I don't know, and it's not of interest to me, who made the decision regarding the lighting of Mtatsminda Tower in the colors of the Iranian flag and why — in my eyes, it was an incorrect gesture, especially this year, after what we have seen in Iran, — this was stated by Israel's Ambassador to Georgia, Walid Abu Hayam, to InterpressNews, in response to the lighting of Tbilisi's tower in the colors of the Iranian flag.

Israel's Ambassador believes that the lighting of the tower was not a gesture toward Iran or the Iranian people, but rather a gesture toward Iran's terrorist regime, and he could not remain silent regarding this action.

"My protest concerned the action itself — it was the marking of the 47th anniversary of this terrorist regime that sits in Iran and fights us everywhere. I could not remain silent and not comment on this action, so that I would not express protest. I know that Georgia and Iran have diplomatic relations, there is an Iranian embassy in Tbilisi, I do not interfere in Georgia's foreign relations, its bilateral relations with another country. In the case of Mtatsminda Tower, personally, as an Israeli citizen and as Israel's Ambassador to Georgia, I felt that this was a gesture toward the Iranian regime; it was not a gesture toward Iran or the Iranian people. Because this is the regime's 47 years, which kills Israelis and kills Iranians. This is a regime that kills Israelis in Israel and in many other places around the world. They do everything, put in all efforts to murder Israelis and also kill innocent Iranians. Therefore, I felt that protest should be expressed against this gesture, regardless of who made this decision. I am not saying why the government did this or that; simply, in my eyes, it was an incorrect gesture, especially this year, after what we have seen in Iran," — stated Israel's Ambassador.

For information: On the evening of February 11, Tbilisi's tower was lit in the colors of the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On that day, Iran marked the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In connection with this, Israel's Embassy in Georgia soon issued a statement expressing protest regarding the lighting of Mtatsminda Tower in the colors of the Iranian flag and noted: "What message is this, when Iran's murderous regime kills thousands of people on the streets of its own cities, and in Tbilisi they decided to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution together with this same regime by lighting the tower in the colors of Iran's flag?"

Later, Georgia's Prime Minister explained that the message is very simple — "when a request comes to light the tower, the tower is always lit."