Britain, Iran severe diplomatic ties

[CorporateAffairs]

UK pulls out embassy officials from Iran.

Tehran: Britain has evacuated all its diplomatic staff from Iran, Western diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after protesters stormed and ransacked its embassy and a residential compound.

Britain said it was outraged by the attacks and warned of "serious consequences". The UN Security Council condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms". US President Barack Obama called on Iran to hold those responsible to account. No comment was immediately available from the British government on the reported withdrawal of embassy staff from Iran.

On Tuesday, Iranian protesters stormed two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran, smashing windows, torching a car and burning the British flag in protest against new sanctions imposed by London. The attacks occurred at a time of rising diplomatic tension between Iran and Western nations, which last week imposed fresh sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme that they believe is aimed at achieving the capability of making an atomic bomb.

Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, says it wants nuclear plants only for the generation of electricity.

The embassy storming was also a sign of deepening political infighting within Iran's ruling hardline elites, with the conservative-led parliament attempting to force the hand of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and expel the British ambassador. "Radicals in Iran and in the West are always in favour of crisis ... Such radical hardliners in Iran will use the crisis to unite people and also to blame the crisis for the fading economy," said political analyst Hasan Sedghi.

Several dozen protesters broke away from a crowd of a few hundred outside the main British embassy compound in Tehran, scaled the gates, broke the locks and went inside. Protesters pulled down the British flag, burned it and put up the Iranian flag, Iranian news agencies and news pictures showed. Inside, the demonstrators smashed windows of office and residential quarters and set a car ablaze, news pictures showed. One took a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth, state TV showed. Others carried the royal crest out through the embassy gate as police stood by, pictures carried by the semi-official Fars news agency showed.

All embassy personnel were accounted for, a British diplomat told Reuters in Washington, saying Britain did not believe that any sensitive materials had been seized. Demonstrators waved flags symbolising martyrdom and held aloft portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has the final say on matters of state in Iran. Another group of protesters broke into a second British compound at Qolhak in north Tehran, the IRNA state news agency said. Once the embassy's summer quarters, the sprawling, tree-lined compound is now used to house diplomatic staff.

An Iranian report said six British embassy staff had been briefly held by the protesters. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the situation had been "confusing" and that he would not have called them "hostages". "Police freed the six people working for the British embassy in Qolhak garden," Iran's Fars news agency said.

A German school next to the Qolhak compound was also damaged, the German government said.

Police appeared to have cleared the demonstrators in front of the main embassy compound, but later clashed with protesters and fired tear gas to try to disperse them, Fars said. Protesters nevertheless entered the compound a second time, before once again leaving, it said. British Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of the government crisis committee to discuss the attacks, which he said were "outrageous and indefensible". "The failure of the Iranian government to defend British staff and property was a disgrace," he said in a statement.

"The Iranian government must recognize that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff. We will consider what these measures should be in the coming days." The United States, alongside the European Union and many of its member states also strongly condemned the attacks. There have been regular protests outside the British embassy over the years since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah, but never have any been so violent.

The attacks and hostage-taking were a reminder of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran carried out by radical students who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran after the hostage-taking.


Source: Britain pulls embassy staff out of Iran: Sources - World News - IBNLive

 

[kawaraj]

The UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London.

Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Iran's parliament had previously voted to reduce diplomatic ties with the UK.

Mr Hague said he was demanding the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London, with all its staff to leave the UK within 48 hours.

"If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here," Mr Hague told MPs.

He said there had been "some degree of regime consent" in the attacks on the embassy and on another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran.

He said all UK diplomatic staff in Tehran had been evacuated and the embassy closed.

Mr Hague said relations between the UK and Iran were now at their lowest level, but the UK was not severing relations with Tehran entirely.

BBC News - UK to expel all Iranian diplomats over embassy attack

tit for tat, right?

 

[IranZamin]

PressTV - Britain, Iran severe diplomatic ties
The UK and Iran have formally cut bilateral diplomatic relations, after Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the closure of the Iranian embassy in London.


The announcement, which was made during a House of Commons meeting, appears to be a pre-planned scheme in line with earlier threats of a military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

[T-Rex]

Iran should line up with Pakistan to confront the west and its allies. Pakistan should help Iran to defend itself against any attack. It seems an assault is imminent.

 

[fd24]

he UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London.

Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The sanctions led to Iran's parliament reducing diplomatic ties with the UK.

Mr Hague said he was demanding the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London, with all its staff to leave the UK within 48 hours.

"If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here," Mr Hague told MPs.

He said there had been "some degree of regime consent" in the attacks on the embassy and on another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran.

He said all UK diplomatic staff in Tehran had been evacuated and the embassy closed.

Mr Hague said relations between the UK and Iran were now at their lowest level, but the UK was not severing relations with Tehran entirely.

Addressing parliament, Mr Hague said he was due to raise the matter at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

"We will discuss these events and further action which needs to be taken in the light of Iran's continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons programme," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Germany announced it was temporarily recalling its ambassador to Tehran over the "unacceptable" storming of the British embassy.

Hundreds of protesters - whom Iran described as "students" - massed outside the embassy compound on Tuesday afternoon before scaling the walls and the gates, burning British flags and a car.

Another UK diplomatic compound in northern Tehran, known locally as Qolhak Garden, was also overrun and damaged.

Iran said it regretted the incident, which it described as "unacceptable behaviour by a small number of protesters".

Mr Hague said the majority of those taking part had been members of a regime-backed Basij militia group.

He said the private quarters of staff and the ambassador had been ransacked, the main embassy office set on fire and personal possessions belonging to UK diplomats stolen.

The US, EU and UN Security Council also condemned the attacks.

Relations between the UK and the Islamic Republic of Iran have been fraught since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Wednesday's move brings bilateral relations to their lowest level since 1989 when ties were broken over Iran's declaration of a "fatwa" (edict) to kill the author Salman Rushdie.

Analysts have compared Tuesday's scenes in Tehran to the 1979 storming of the US embassy there. That ended with more than 50 US diplomats and staff being held hostage for more than 400 days.

The US and Iran have had no diplomatic ties since then - the Swiss embassy in Tehran serves as the protecting power for US interests in the country.

Last week the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against Iran, including measures to restrict the activities of the Iranian central bank.

The UK said then it was severing all financial ties with Iran.

The move followed a report by the UN's nuclear watchdog (IAEA) that said Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear device".

Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, Iran's parliament voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK in response to the recent action.

Im sure Iran wont give a damn about what stance the UK take - they have got the balls to put 2 fingers up at them. Its their loss - not Irans!!

 

[Imran Khan]

look how shameless our leaders and military heads are.no one killed injured nor drop of blood still sovereign countries cannot tolerate it and we bombed daily and next day kiss and polish US NATO shoe

 

[fd24]

I am surprised that the UK government haven't frozen all Iranian assets and bank accounts in the UK because that's what they normally are good at doing - take the money as a confiscation order and spend it on buying bombs to bomb the nation whose money it was as they did with Libya.

 

[Abii]

Iran should line up with Pakistan to confront the west and its allies. Pakistan should help Iran to defend itself against any attack. It seems an assault is imminent.

lol actually pakistan needs to line up with Iran. Iran has been safe for more than 3 decades.
If all Middle Eastern countries were like Iran, these swines from Europe and NA wouldn't have the balls to look at us in the face. Unfortunately the arabs are too busy making islands and buying gold plated lambos. Meanwhile they're angry at Iran for trying to stand up to the West.

---------- Post added at 08:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:50 AM ----------

btw, great news
Iran shouldn't have ties with the Brits. I can see Iran becoming an ally with even Israel one day but not with these leeches.

 

[IranZamin]

 

[Tshering22]

lol actually pakistan needs to line up with Iran. Iran has been safe for more than 3 decades.
If all Middle Eastern countries were like Iran, these swines from Europe and NA wouldn't have the balls to look at us in the face. Unfortunately the arabs are too busy making islands and buying gold plated lambos. Meanwhile they're angry at Iran for trying to stand up to the West.

Pragmatically it can't. Despite all its claimed military prowess, economically it is a losing game if Pakistan did that. Not because we are enemies but because of practical economics. You Iranians are very rich in oil which is a big revenue earner to your country. Add to the fact that you have a much stronger industrial base, scientific know-how and reasonably well manufacturing. Pakistan lags in those areas.

Which means that Iran has resources enough to be self-reliant in economic terms, but others cannot.

As a neutral person in this thread, I'd say that even Gulf Arabs cannot afford to go all independent because if they do become adamant about oil, the rest of the world will become adamant about the massive consumables Arabs import.

In short, Iran has both consumable and mineral resources rich enough to stand alone; Arabs and Pakistanis are rich in either the former or the latter and hence cannot economically consider isolation as an option.

Just to Pakistani members here; this is not a taunt. I was simply presenting a viewpoint.

 

[somebozo]

Iran is self isolating itself..so funny!

Britain pulls embassy staff out of Iran
By AGENCIES


Published: Nov 30, 2011 14:14 Updated: Nov 30, 2011 14:14

TEHRAN: Britain began evacuating diplomatic staff from Iran and warned of serious consequences for the Iranian government while Norway has closed its embassy in Tehran on Wednesday, one day after protesters stormed the British Embassy in the most violent incident yet as relations rapidly deteriorate.


Hilde Steinfeld, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Oslo, said the decision to close the Norwegian embassy was taken late Tuesday, but that Norway’s diplomatic staff have not been evacuated from the country. “They’re still in Tehran,” she said.

Steinfeld would not go into greater detail, but said “the decision follows security concerns.” She added that “it is in context with the attack on the British embassy yesterday.”

Norway has four to five diplomatic staff deployed in the Iranian capital, she said.

Britain said it was “outraged” over the attack and the ransacking of diplomatic premises by hard-line students and Basij militia in revenge for new British and Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The attack also reflected widening divisions within Iran’s ruling elite over how to deal with the increased international pressure as sanctions take their toll on the already stagnant economy.

The protest, which evoked memories of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy, appeared to be a move by the conservatives who dominate parliament in their feud with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and designed to force him to heed their demand to expel the British ambassador.

In their dispute with the West, Ahmadinejad and his ministers have shown no willingness to compromise on their refusal to halt Iran’s nuclear program but have sought to keep talks open to limit what sanctions are imposed. The West believes the program is aimed at building a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies.

“It was planned and organized by the students but it was not something that came from the government,” said Mohammad Marandi, an associate professor at Tehran University.

“The students were telling me days before that they were planning to be there in large numbers. They said some students would try (to storm the embassy),” he said. “I don’t think the government is happy with what happened.”

Conservative newspapers trumpeted the embassy seizure.

The daily Vatan-e Emrouz declared “Fox’s den seized” — referring to Britain’s nickname “the old fox” which reflects a widely held view in Iran that the former imperial power still wields great power behind the scenes in Iranian and international affairs.

While Iranian police at first did not stop the protesters storming the embassy gates, they later fired tear-gas to disperse them and freed six Britons held by demonstrators.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry expressed its regret for the “unacceptable behavior of few demonstrators.”

The protesters hit back at the Foreign Ministry and police.

“The Foreign Ministry stance on the university students’ move has surprised us because our expectation from the Foreign Ministry is not to sacrifice the basis and the goals of the nation for diplomatic and political relations,” said a statement by a group calling itself the Islamic community of seven Tehran universities.

“While the protesting students were seeking to answer to the plots and malevolence of this old fox in support of the decision of the revolutionary parliament to expel the ambassador of the British government we witnessed the harsh blow of the police on these students,” said the statement on a state TV website.

“We expected the police to be on the side of the students instead of confronting them.”

'Carnage'

Britain last week banned all its financial institutions from any dealings with Iran, including its central bank, after a report by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency suggested Iran may have worked on developing a nuclear arsenal.

Iran, the world’s fifth biggest oil exporter, denies the charge and says it only wants to generate electricity.

The United States and Canada also tightened their sanctions on Iran last week but France is pressing for more.

“France is advocating sanctions on a scale that would paralyze the regime: freezing of central bank assets and an embargo on hydrocarbon exports,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in an interview in a weekly news magazine.

Seemingly alluding to efforts to agree such a move at the level of the 27-country European Union, Juppe said: “We want to reach a common position so that the pressure will be utmost. We cannot keep letting the Iranians take us for a ride.”

Perhaps mindful of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran when radical students held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, Britain has yet to announce what measures it will take against Iran over the storming of its premises. According to Western diplomats, its two dozen diplomatic staff and dependents are still in the process of being evacuated.

British Prime Minister David Cameron chaired two meetings of the government’s crisis committee on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning to discuss the situation and a response, a British spokesman said.

British Foreign Minister William Hague is due to address parliament on the incident later on Wednesday.

Protesters stormed the main British embassy in downtown Tehran on Tuesday, smashing windows, torching a car and burning the British flag. At the same time, another group broke into a British diplomatic residential compound at Qolhak in north Tehran which used to be the embassy’s summer quarters.

Several sources told Reuters that diplomats had had their movements restricted by protesters and one said staff in the main British embassy had been herded into a room while protesters ransacked the premises.

Both properties were severely damaged, with official and personal possessions looted or destroyed, said sources who had spoken to embassy staff. One described the scene as “carnage.”


© 2010 Arab News

Two Iranian protesters try to remove a British emblem from a British Embassy building in Tehran on Tuesday. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

 

[Hussein]

I am reading a blog in farsi about a poor girl who was going to England since her little girl needed an operation on heart and it was planned for very soon.
She was giving a call and they said to her that every documents have been burned in the embassy and they are sorry because they cannot do anything for her.

The stupid people who attack an embassy should think as well about this !

 

[Zabaniyah]

From what I've heard, the Brits were trying to impose sanctions on Iran's Central Bank. Of-course, that would've affected ordinary Iranians.

Those Brits are stupid to do such a thing considering the mess their own country is in.
BBC News - Public sector strike rallies staged across UK

What are they planning? The British Empire rise again? What a bloody joke!

One should be careful while throwing rocks from a glass house.

 

[anon45]

PressTV - Britain, Iran severe diplomatic ties
The UK and Iran have formally cut bilateral diplomatic relations, after Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the closure of the Iranian embassy in London.


The announcement, which was made during a House of Commons meeting, appears to be a pre-planned scheme in line with earlier threats of a military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Or perhaps its because the Iranian government once again showed its flagrant disregard of international law and broke all diplomatic norms by once again attacking embassies (guests of the state) on its soil, instead of simply telling them to leave like Britain did.

What a crock.


Others beside Britain have already or are considering pulling their ambassadors. Iran shouldn't be surprised.


This will increase the chances of war though, as there are less mechanisms to mediate conflict available now.

I've often seen the word thugocracy used to describe Iran on American hard right wing sites.

That is apt in this case. Iran's actions were the actions of a Thugocracy

 

[Arian]

Others beside Britain have already or are considering pulling their ambassadors. Iran shouldn't be surprised.

Would you inform us about those other countries that are now considering pulling their ambassadors?