Expelled British ambassador accuses Iran of supporting embassy storming
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Xinhua News Agency, December 3, 2011
British ambassador to Iran Dominick Chilcott on Friday accused the Iranian government of supporting Tuesday's storming of British embassy compounds in Tehran by Iranian students.
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Iranian students try to storm the British embassy in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 29, 2011. Angry students from Iranian universities Tuesday stormed the British embassy compound in Tehran and dragged down the British flag. |
"That sort of activity is only done with the acquiescence and the support of the state," said Chilcott who left Iran after a group of protestors broke into the embassy compound and burned British flags.
The Iranian parliament on Sunday passed a bill tha
t gave the government two weeks to expel the British ambassador.
Chilcott said "with the benefit of hindsight, it's very clear that this (Tuesday's incident) was a state-supported activity."
However, the ambassador said some Iranian official "may have underestimated the British response."
"They probably didn't expect us to send home the Iranian embassy in London and, reading between the lines, you can see in the way they have responded to that move, some remorse in having provoked it," he added.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London on Wednesday, and asked all Iranian diplomats to leave Britain within 48 hours since then.
Hours after the 1400 GMT expulsion deadline had passed, a British foreign office spokesperson confirmed the departure of all Iranian diplomats.
"I can confirm that, earlier this afternoon, all diplomatic staff of the Iranian Embassy in London took off from Heathrow airport. They are returning to Iran in line with the Foreign Secretary's statement to Parliament on Wednesday," the spokesperson said.
Iran had said it regretted the incident, which it described as "unacceptable behavior by a small number of protesters." Tehran police chief General Hossein Sajadinia said several protesters had been arrested and would face the courts.
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