Croatian President Repeats Criticism of Israeli Ambassador

Zoran Milanovic (BETAPHOTO/HINA/Tomislav PAVLEK)

President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic repeated on March 11 his fierce criticism of the Israeli ambassador in Zagreb, Gary Koren, over his statement that Croatia should check the Iranian embassy for possible terrorist activities.

“We do not want foreign infections and germs in Croatia, either Iranian or Israeli. Let the gentlemen behave accordingly – if they would not, then that means the government is tolerating them,” Milanovic said to reporters in Zagreb when asked to comment on the statement of the Israeli ambassador, who has already been summoned to the president’s office for that reason. Milanovic added that “this clerk from Tel Aviv has all but claimed that the Embassy of Iran in the middle of Zagreb was a terrorist den,” and described this as an act of disturbance of the Croatian public.

“Iran truly is, when we speak about the Middle East, just like Israel is, prone to certain terrorist methods. What is the killing in Gaza if not terrorism? What are the atrocities of Israeli troops if not terrorism? However, Iran is not performing any terrorist action in Europe, to my knowledge,” the Croatian president said.

“This is Zagreb, my friend, not Tel Aviv,” Milanovic said in comment of the Israeli ambassador’s statement, adding that Croatia did not have “any exceptional relation with Iran” but that Iran was “a member of the U.N. that has been attacked without a U.N. mandate.”