Britain closes its Embassy in Tehran

Britain closed its Embassy in Tehran yesterday Wednesday and demanded the closure within 48 hours of the Iran in London, in retaliation for the I looting the Tuesday of the headquarters of the representation in the Iranian capital which elicited angry protests British International.

"We have closed now our Embassy in Tehran", declared British Chancellor William Hague before deputies gathered in London. The Minister added that the rioters who looted the Embassy had been able to do "without some degree of consent" of the Iranian regime.

"We have decided to evacuate all our staff," he added, specifying that "recent members (the Embassy) have left already Iran".

The evacuation operation was carried out with the cooperation of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several European embassies, including that of France, where the British diplomats spent the night after being evacuated Tuesday evening from u000athe premises of the British representation, occupied and looted by protesters.

Before the Friday
the British Government demanded in addition "the immediate closure of the Embassy of Iran in London" and the departure of the "Iranian diplomatic staff members" before Friday, said Hague, between the applause from the deputies.

The closure of both embassies "reduces our relations with Iran at the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations", said. After this Tehran described as "hasty" the decision of Great Britain and he threatened to take "reciprocal actions".

"What happened to the British in Tehran Embassy was unforeseeable and occurred because of the wrath of some protesters against the British with regard to the Islamic Republic attitude," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ramin Mehmanparast.

The protesters who attacked Tuesday the Embassy u000aBritish in Tehran enjoyed in the first instance of the passivity of the police, of which numerous troops encentraban in front of the Embassy, while the action was broadcast live by television Iranian.

Closure of the mission
the protesters demanded the closure of the British mission, in retaliation for sanctions adopted last week by Britain, in cooperation with United States and Canada, to try to force Iran to give up its nuclear, that the Western powers program they accuse of having military objectives.

Great Britain decided to then break all relations between the British financial sector and the banks of Iran, after the publication of a report from the international agency of Atomic Energy (IAEA), according to which Iran is to equip itself with nuclear weapons despite its repeated denials.

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The support of several Nations
several European capitals took the u000aWednesday measures of retaliation against the Republic Islamic.

Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam called for '' consultations '' on their respective ambassadors in Tehran and Oslo "closed" temporarily its Embassy in Iran. On Thursday, European Ministers for Foreign Affairs could adopt new sanctions against Iran, enrolling in particular other 143 companies and Iranian organisations on the list of entities with frozen assets, according to sources diplomatic.

The Iranian Ministry stated that "regrets the behavior of a small number of demonstrators".

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