I will never allow myself to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia, like the ambassadors of some other countries, - the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Georgia Seyed Ali Moujan said in response to a question regarding the case of Gulbaat Rtskhiladze, who was arrested on charges of espionage.

As he noted, Gulbaat Rtskhiladze once came to the Iranian Embassy for a press conference.

“We had a very open relationship with him. Nothing was hidden. Two or three weeks ago, Gulbaat was asking a question to the parent of one of the students who died at the Minab school. We have relations with all experts and researchers who work on the problems of the region and on public issues in general. It doesn’t matter whether his name is Gulbaat or Zaza. We are familiar with the analytical work of all experts and researchers. Accordingly, we listen to their opinions and take their advice into account.

Since the security environment in Georgia directly affects Iran’s security, the opinions of Georgian analysts are important to us and we will convey their opinions to Tehran. I will never allow myself to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia, like the ambassadors of some other countries. The detention of any person cannot be connected with us in any way because this is an internal matter of the country. The media reported that one of the countries was supposedly Iran, on what basis did they say it was Iran? Was there documentation, was any evidence presented? It is advisable to address this question to the relevant agencies. I cannot interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia and cannot comment. He once came to the embassy for a similar press conference, and once I was invited to him, he had a conference. At one of the panel sessions, the issue was about Iran, where I made a report on the ongoing processes in Iran. We had invited some experts, I hosted them for dinner, but we did not have any dinner with Gulbaat," the Iranian ambassador said.

According to him, it is not the duty of diplomats to make anti-state statements and violate the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the country with these statements.

For information, Gulbaat Rtskhiladze was arrested by the State Security Service on May 30 on charges of espionage. He was charged under Article 314, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which refers to espionage. The aforementioned act is punishable by up to 12 years of imprisonment. The detainee is accused of having connections with the special services of two foreign countries. In particular, according to the investigation, the accused simultaneously cooperated with the special services of two foreign states and carried out parallel intelligence activities.