After Norway accused the Tehran government of confiscating the medal of Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, Iran urges Oslo officials to 'get their facts straight before taking sides.'

Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer, had earlier claimed that authorities acting on orders from Tehran's Revolutionary Court have taken away her peace prize medal and her Legion of Honor.

She claimed the authorities also seized a ring awarded to her by a German association of journalists and froze all the bank accounts of her husband and herself.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said Friday that he was "shocked and concerned" by the move.

"This is the first time a Nobel Peace Prize has been confiscated by national authorities," claimed Gahr.

Answering to a reporter's question about the issue on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast rejected Ebadi's claims.

"It is most surprising to see Norwegian officials in a rash and unmeditated move, overlook the laws and regulations respected by all and adopt a biased stance [on this issue]," added Mehman-Parast in response to the claims made by the Norwegian Foreign Minister.

"Much the same as European countries, tax evasion is a crime in Iran and individuals would face legal penalties should they commit such an act," added Mehman-Parast.

Mehman-Parast said that if Norwegian officials really cared about human rights, they would have never abstained from a crucial United Nations vote on Israeli war crimes.

He was referring to the Goldstone Report, a 575-page investigative account headed by Jewish South African judge Richard Goldstone, which detailed numerous acts of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Israelis during their incursion into Gaza last year.

The resolution was put to vote in the UN General Assembly on November 5 and was eventually endorsed by 114 members.

Sbb/DT