Brussels, 30/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 November, European leaders unanimously and firmly condemned the attack on the British Embassy in Iran by hundreds of young protestors as retaliation against sanctions taken by London over doubts relating to the Iranian nuclear programme. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton firmly condemned what she called a “totally unacceptable incursion”. She called on the Iranian government to “immediately fulfil its international obligations … to protect diplomats and embassies”. Britain's Foreign Minister William Hague said he was “scandalised” by the “unacceptable intrusion” of the embassy by protestors. He underlined that this was a very serious error on the part of the Iranian government and warned of “serious consequences”. He explained that he held the Iranian government responsible because of its inability to take the necessary measures to protect the British embassy, as it is under an obligation to do.
France, Italy, Germany and Sweden also firmly condemned what they described as an “intolerable” attack. Paris holds the Iranian authorities responsible for the security and integrity of diplomatic missions in Tehran, William Hague added. Germany convened the Iranian ambassador underlining that his country must comply with international law and protect foreign delegations, said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, “regretted” the attack. He expressed his regret for what he said was unacceptable behaviour on the part of a small number of demonstrators despite police efforts to control them, adding that he had called on the authorities to immediately take the necessary measures to put an end to the occupation of the British Embassy. (CG/transl.jl)