Senior Swiss Diplomat In Iran Dies In High-Rise Fall

A senior Swiss Embassy official in Iran died after falling from a high-rise apartment building in an upscale neighborhood in Tehran, local emergency services officials said.

Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesman for the National Medical Emergency Organization in Tehran, said the incident took place in Kamraniyeh area in north Tehran.

He, however, did not divulge more details about the circumstances surrounding the death, stopping short of confirming whether it was an accidental death or a suicide.

The victim, a 51-year-old woman, was the first secretary at the embassy, according to officials. She lived on the 18th floor of an apartment building in the Iranian capital.

Security sources in Tehran told Anadolu Agency that the incident was "under investigation" and it was "too early" to conclude the cause of her death, which appears to have happened under "mysterious circumstances".

The incident, they said, came to light on Tuesday morning after an apartment worker discovered the victim's body and informed police.

Iran's Foreign Ministry, in a statement, also said the incident is being investigated by "competent authorities" and the results of the investigation will be "announced later".

Pertinently, Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran with a "protecting power mandate" since 1980, when Washington severed political and diplomatic ties with Tehran following the hostage crisis in the wake of the 1979 revolution.

The two countries marked 100 years of their diplomatic ties last year.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident in a statement, saying one of its employees had "died in a fatal incident on Tuesday", without disclosing her identity.

Swiss media "ed the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) spokesman saying that the FDFA and its head, Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, were "shocked by the tragic death".

It further said the department is "in contact with the family of the deceased and the Swiss embassy is in touch with the local authorities". -