Berlin, Sept 27, IRNA - Germany has ordered home its ambassador to Iran, Herbert Honsowitz because a high-ranking German diplomat attended a military parade in Tehran, dpa quoted a foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying Saturday.

The spokeswoman confirmed a report in the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine that Germany's top diplomat in Iran had been told to report to Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday morning to explain why a German military attache attended a military parade after European Union envoys decided to boycott the event.

The magazine alleged Steinmeier was "very upset" over the affair.

A banner saying `Israel should be erased from the world' was shown at the parade whose keynote speaker was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the report.

Honsowitz is generally viewed as an Iran-friendly envoy.

German-Iranian ties have faced a series of ups and downs in recent times as a result of intense Zionist lobbying efforts.

... Payvand News - 09/28/08 ... --