Iran has slammed a failed coup attempt in Bolivia, stressing the need for order and law to be restored in the South American country.
“We condemn the coup against the foundations of democracy as well as the attack on democratic institutions and the legal government in Bolivia,” Nasser Kan’ani, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.
Iran emphasizes the importance of restoring law and order and returning power to the legal government of Bolivia, he added.
The troops of Juan Jose Zuniga, who was fired earlier this week as commander of the Bolivian Army, raided the presidential palace in the capital La Paz on Wednesday afternoon and took up positions in the square outside, where key government buildings are located. Media reports said a tank slammed the palace doors.
However, Zuniga urged the soldiers within hours to withdraw, after leaders from around the world blasted the army’s actions as illegal.
Bolivia has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.
