Iranian diplomats set to leave Albania after expulsion order

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Iranian embassy staff in the Albanian capital have worked through the night after they were given 24 hours to leave the country over a major cyberattack on Albanian government websites that was allegedly carried out by Iran. Movement inside the Iranian embassy in Tirana continued nonstop from Wednesday into Thursday. An empty barrel was seen taken into the compound and later a fire was started in it, apparently burning documents. A diplomatic car went in and out and two Albanian police officers briefly entered the embassy. The staff have until noon to leave Albania.  Ties between the two countries have been tense since 2014 when Albania sheltered some 3,000 members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.