Iranian authorities have summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran to protest what it describes as U.S. espionage networks.
Iranian state television reports the foreign ministry told Ambassador Philippe Welti that Iran recently discovered spy networks trying to infiltrate and carry out sabotage actions in parts of Iran. It says the networks were created by American intelligence services.
The United States and Iran have no diplomatic relations, but sometimes pass information through Swiss intermediaries. U.S. and Iranian officials plan to meet in Baghdad Monday for talks about security in Iraq. Both sides have said discussions will focus only on Iraq.
Iran is currently detaining scholar Haleh Esfandiari, who has dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship. Iran says she admitted under interrogation to trying to establish an unofficial network to topple the Iranian government.
The Washington-based foundation she works with, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has denied the accusations.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
