Senior diplomat resigns as Norway probes Epstein links

Norway's ambassador to Jordan and Iraq has resigned after an investigation was launched into her ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the foreign ministry said Sunday.

Mona Juul, who played a key role in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, is among several high-profile Norwegian figures swept up in the latest Epstein file release.

"This is a correct and necessary decision. Juul's contact with the convicted abuser Epstein has shown a serious lapse in judgment," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

The senior diplomat was temporarily suspended on Monday pending an investigation into her alleged links to Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Epstein left $10 million in his will to Juul's two children with her husband, fellow diplomat and Oslo talks broker Terje Rod-Larsen, according to Norwegian media.

Eide said that the ministry would continue to hold talks with Juul throughout the review to determine the extent of their dealings.

"It is important to understand the scope of the contact she, as an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has had with Epstein," he said.

He added that the Jordan embassy would be led by the deputy ambassador until a new envoy is appointed.

Thomas Skjelbred, Juul's lawyer, said in a statement that she resigned because "the situation she now finds herself in makes it impossible for her to discharge her duties in a responsible manner."

Skjelbred added that the situation had "been an enormous personal strain on her and her immediate family," and that she would continue cooperating with the foreign ministry.

Norway's political and royal circles have been thrust into the eye of the Epstein storm, including the CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, and former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, who is being investigated for "aggravated corruption".

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has also come under scrutiny for her relationship with Epstein, which on Friday she said she "deeply regretted".