TEHRAN -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has said taking reciprocal action against other states is common in diplomatic relations between countries.

Mehmanparast made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday in response to the fingerprinting of the Iranian soccer players by Saudi Arabia.
Persepolis, who traveled to Jeddah on February 27 to play Al Ittihad in the first match day of 2011 AFC Champions League, were kept waiting at the airport for about eight hours.
The airport officials convinced the Iranian team officials that fingerprinting and eye scan systems would apply to all the passengers.
This is not the first time that Saudi officials fingerprinted the Iranians entering Saudi Arabia.
Talking to the Mehr News Agency, Mehmanparast stated if a country says it scans the eyes of foreign nationals or fingerprint them in order to protect the country’s security, “we say we will do the same to your nationals to protect our country’s security. This forms a common part of the Foreign Ministry’s plans and is related to consular affairs.”
He also said certain plans have been drawn up to equip the country’s airports with the necessary facilities to take extra security measures in this regard.
Mehmanparast added, “The plans are intended to take reciprocal action… However, fingerprinting and screening the eyes of foreign nationals is a sensitive issue. The issue is being examined meticulously and we are keeping a close eye on how our nationals are being treated (in other countries).”
On March 1, Kazem Jalali, who is the rapporteur of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, called on the Foreign Ministry to reciprocate the move by the Saudi Arabian officials.
“The measure was very disrespectful and the Foreign Ministry and the Iranian officials must pursue the issue,” Jalali stated