This is incredibly unusual… Iranian media is reporting that the Swiss Ambassador to Iran was summoned so that she could be warned about the consequences of a potential Israeli military strike and US involvement in such a strike. However, the ambassador was not summoned to the foreign ministry; instead, she was summoned to the IRGC. Summoning is a formal diplomatic tool that allows a host country to express a strong objection about a matter to a foreign diplomat. I don't remember when a foreign diplomat in any country was summoned anywhere else but the host country's foreign ministry, much less the IRGC.
@yashar Iranian citizens have communicated that they want Israel and other countries to attack the IRGC.
@yashar IRGC totally taking over all affairs of state?
@yashar She shouldn't go there. This would confirm that the seat of IRGC is a diplomatic bulding, while it is not. That's exactly why Israel bombed it in Syria: IRGC HQ are NOT protected by diplomatic exemptions.
@yashar @honglebongle The IRGC is the foreign policy arm of the Islamic republic. Don’t you remember when Rhoani even said as much state.gov/wp-content/upl…
@yashar Very unusual. But Switzerland has the role of representing the U.S. in Tehran. So, interpretation could be: the ruling "state within the state" that is the IRGC has summoned the de facto U.S. representative to convey a threat to the U.S. and to be seen to be conveying a threat.