President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has accused the Israeli embassy of leaking a letter in which he sent his “best wishes” to the new president of Iran.
Mr Higgins is in New York where he addressed the UN Summit of the Future at the organisation’s headquarters.
Speaking to journalists after his address, Mr Higgins was asked about criticism he received for sending a courtesy letter to Masoud Pezeshkian, who became Iran’s president after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
The Israeli embassy in Dublin criticised the letter to Mr Pezeshkian at the time, saying it sent “the wrong message to the people of Iran living in fear under this brutal regime”.
Mr Higgins said on Sunday that the correspondence to Mr Pezeshkian was “standard” for when someone is a “newly elected head of state”.
He added that the letter, which was leaked online in August, emphasised peace in the Middle East and the importance of diplomacy.
When asked about the letter by the Irish Independent, Mr Higgins said: “Why don’t you ask where it came from? … Where the criticism came from and how the letter was circulated and by whom and for what purpose?”
When pushed on the matter, Mr Higgins said: “It was circulated from the Israeli embassy.”
He added that he did not know how Israeli authorities would have obtained the letter and noted that Israel’s ambassador to Ireland was not “in residence” to consult.
Israel recalled its ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich in May in response to Ireland’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
Ms Erlich has not returned to Ireland since, a decision which the Israeli embassy said followed “the troubling rise in anti-Israel discourse in Ireland” and claimed that accusations against Israel “crossed the line into vilification, incitement and libels”.
It said these accusations created “an inhospitable environment for the Jewish and Israeli communities in Ireland”.
“We do hope that under different, more friendly conditions, Ambassador Erlich will resume her duties in Dublin and continue the important work ahead of her,” the embassy said earlier this month.
The Israeli embassy in Dublin has been contacted for comment.