Rep. King: US should expel ‘so-called Iranian diplomats’

{mosads}King cited two recent incidents between the two countries in the interview:

In October, Iran was implicated in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
 
On Monday, the Iranian government sentenced American-born Amir Mirza Hekmati to death for “cooperating with the hostile country and spying for the CIA.” The State Department demanded his release and the White House condemned the sentence.
 
“We have to treat this as more than a provocation. We can never say we are going to leave any American behind,” King said of Hekmati.

 “There’s absolutely no evidence that this former Marine was involved in anything illegal whatsoever. He was visiting his grandparents. He’s an Iranian American. This is very common, for Iranian Americans to visit their grandparents in Iran.”
 
According to Hekmati’s family and friends, who live in the United States, the 28-year-old is not a spy and was visiting his grandmother in Iran. Iran has refused access to the prisoner.
 
Iran last month threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf, and the United States imposed increased sanctions on the Iranian central bank. Tensions between the two countries have been heightened, and this is not King’s first call for a strong response to provocations by Tehran.