(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-06 17:03

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has expelled a German diplomat for "undiplomatic" behavior, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

"Responsible authorities recognized that this person was engaging in undiplomatic behavior and has to leave Iran," ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters during his weekly briefing.

Hosseini didn't name the diplomat or gave any additional information.

A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said late Saturday that she could only "confirm that a German diplomat has left Iran," but declined to elaborate.

However, there has been speculation that the explusion of the German diplomat is an Iranian reaction to Germany's reported expulsion last July of an Iranian consular attache.

The German weekly Der Spiegel reported last month that the Iranian diplomat, identified only as Mohraramali D., had contacted a specialist firm in Bavaria, apparently in hopes of buying a component that could be used in the uranium enrichment process.

The Foreign Ministry in Berlin refused to confirm the report at the time and declined to do so again Saturday.