From AFP:
“Based on the international laws, embassies cannot be sold or confiscated,” Reza Jafari, deputy Teheran prosecutor, was quoted as saying in the centrist Kargozaran newspaper.
“The court can only confiscate property such as cars, bank accounts, buildings and firms, and cannot pass a verdict on confiscating embassies as this is contrary to international law,” he said.
This was in response to a claim by an Iranian citizen, widely reported in the Iranian press, “that the US embassy in Teheran will be sold to pay for damages awarded [as compensation for] his capture 15 years ago by US agents…” Apparently, the legal definition of “confiscate” does not include seizing the U.S. embassy and turning it into an anti-American museum operated by the Revolutionary Guards. Jafari didn’t speak to the legality of holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days.
