Iran summons UAE diplomat over teachers’ arrest

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the United Arab Emirates charge d’affaires in Tehran after nine Iranian teachers were detained over work permit problems in the Gulf nation, state media said.

A UAE official has reportedly said work permits for the teachers were valid only for Dubai and were invalid in Abu Dhabi.

Iran said the teachers in Iranian schools had been regularly working in Abu Dhabi in recent years using their Dubai credentials. A court hearing for the nine teachers scheduled for Monday was postponed, Iran’s ISNA news agency said.

The teachers, all male, were arrested on Wednesday in the city of Al Ain, according to Fars news agency.

It also quoted an informed source as saying today that 13 female Iranian teachers had been summoned to a UAE court, without giving details.

But Rasoul <g data-gr-id="16">Papayi</g>, an education ministry public relations official, denied the report about female teachers, ISNA reported.