Iran recalls its ambassador from Cyprus

Iran has recalled its ambassador to Cyprus for consultations after an Iranian national was recently extradited from the island to the United States on suspicion of violating U.N. arms sanctions, Cyprus's foreign minister said on Thursday.

"Only today... I received word from Nicosia that Iran has decided to recall its ambassador there for consultations. Why? Because an Iranian citizen was apprehended for trying to buy, to contravene the arms embargo against Iran," Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told a conference in Washington.

A diplomatic source in Nicosia said the Iranian was extradited to the United States "after exhaustion of all domestic legal remedies in Cyprus" about two weeks ago.

The United States, other Western countries and Israel suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program.

Currently, four sanctions resolutions of the UN Security Council are in force against Iran, besides unilaterally adopted by a number of countries and organizations resolutions demanding Iran provide full transparency of its nuclear program and prove its exclusively peaceful nature.