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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2003

SCHUMER TO IRAN: COUGH UP SUBWAY VIDEOTAPE SUSPECTS FOR NYPD/FBI QUESTIONING

Schumer warns Iranian Ambassador that if his mission doesn't waive diplomatic immunity and let the NYPD/FBI question two diplomats who were videotaping No. 7 line operations at 1:30 AM Sunday, they may have their visas revoked and be removed from the United States

Schumer: "We won't know if this is a minor misunderstanding or a major plot until the suspects speak"

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today sharply warned the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations that if two Iranian diplomats caught videotaping the operations of the New York City subway system early Sunday morning do not waive diplomatic immunity and submit to FBI questioning, they could lose their temporary visas and be kicked out of the country. When the two Iranians, who arrived in the United States less than a month ago were questioned by NYPD officers on the scene, they allegedly claimed diplomatic immunity because they worked for the Iranian Mission.

"I can't think of a single good reason why anyone would be videotaping how the subway works in the middle of the night – not one." Schumer said. "Maybe they have a good explanation – but if the accused men keep hiding behind diplomatic immunity we'll just never know. All we want to do is ask some questions. But if we are ever going to trust Iran's cooperation in the War on Terrorism, we need to get some answers to these questions right now."

According to a report today, at 1:30 a.m. Sunday an NYPD officer spotted two individuals entering the elevated No. 7 Line subway station at Roosevelt Avenue and 52nd Street in Woodside, Queens. The men were shooting videotape in various directions as they waited for a Manhattan-bound train. The police officer then watched the two men board the train and continue to shoot video. As the train reached the Courthouse Square station, the officer approached the pair and asked them about their suspicious activities, but the men claimed that they did not speak English. When the NYPD brought a Farsi-speaking officer to the scene, the suspects said they worked for Iran's UN mission and therefore had diplomatic immunity. The men also allegedly said they were carrying the camcorder because they were coming back from a party, but the NYPD found no recording of a party on the tape, just video of the subway.

After learning of this story, Schumer today wrote to Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, asking him to use his influence to get his employees to cooperate with the NYPD-FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force investigating the incident. Schumer noted that he is not accusing the men of doing anything wrong at this point, but that in the post-9/11 era anti-terrorism officials need explanations of suspicious activity like this. Schumer also noted that the two Iranians entered the US with temporary visas on October 22 and could likely be expelled by the Department of State if they refuse to anser questions.

"Some sharp-eyed and quick-thinking police officers saw something that looked wrong and moved fast to stop it. We won't know whether this is some strange misunderstanding or whether New York's Finest helped break up a major terrorist attack until we get these suspects to speak to the authorities," Schumer said.

This year, the US Department of State named Iran as one of seven nations that is a State Sponsor of Terror. And in August, British authorities arrested the former Iranian Ambassador to Argentina, who has been accused by an Argentine magistrate of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires while heading the Iranian embassy there. The bombing killed 85 people and injured about 300. Seven other Iranians have been accused by Argentine authorities in connection with the bombing.

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