Britain withdraws embassy staff from Tehran

The UK government has warned of "serious consequences" after the attack Britain said on Wednesday it had withdrawn some diplomatic staff from Tehran after protesters stormed and ransacked its embassy in the Iranian capital. “The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear that ensuring the safety of our staff and their families is our immediate priority,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“In light of yesterday’s events, and to ensure their ongoing safety, some staff are leaving Tehran.”
Earlier, Western diplomatic sources in Tehran told Reuters that Britain had evacuated all its diplomatic staff from Iran.
Protestors in Tehran trashed British offices on Tuesday and stole documents in attacks that dramatically escalated the West’s standoff with Iran over its nuclear program.
      Norway indefinitely closed its embassy in Tehran, citing security concerns. Norway currently has five diplomats in the Iranian capital, and they have not left the city, said a Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman. "They're still in Tehran," she said.
Sweden reacted to yesterday's events by summoning Iran's ambassador in Stockholm to its foreign ministry.
"Iran has a duty to protect diplomatic premises, and authorities there should have intervened immediately," said a Swedish foreign ministry spokesman, Teo Zetterman.
The Scandinavian countries' reactions follow outspoken condemnation of the attack from the US and France. President Obama said he was disturbed by the attack and urged Iran to hold the culprits responsible.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier Wednesday the attack on the British diplomatic compounds in Iran was “an affront” to the international community and called on Tehran to protect the mission.
“The United States condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms. It is an affront not only to the British people but also the international community,” Clinton said at a news conference in South Korea, where she was attending a global development conference, according to Reuters.
“We stand ready to help in any way that we can to make the point as strongly as possible that governments owe a duty to the diplomatic community to protect life and property and we expect the government of Iran to do so,” Clinton said.
In Washington, President Barack Obama also urged Iran to “hold those who are responsible to task.”
On Tuesday, the British government warned of “serious consequences” for the storming of two of its properties in Tehran.
UK Prime Minster David Cameron, in a statement on Tuesday, said all embassy personnel have been accounted for after the attack, which he called “outrageous and indefensible.”
“The Iranian Government must recognise that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff,” Cameron said.
On Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to protest in the strongest terms and to demand immediate steps to ensure the safety of the embassy staff. Hague said his Iranian counterpart said he was sorry for what happened.
The Guardian Council, Iran’s highest legislative body, on November 28 endorsed parliament’s move to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain, including the expulsion of its ambassador, after the UK expanded its sanctions last week.
The U.S. and allies including the UK have said Iran is seeking to develop atomic weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this month that Iran won’t withdraw an iota from its atomic program and dismissed a United Nations report showing the country continued working on nuclear weapons capability until at least last year.
At the embassy compound, six workers were freed after being surrounded by protesters, state-run Fars news said. Embassy staff left through a back door to escape the demonstrators, who replaced the UK flag with an Iranian one, Mehr said.
          Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the actions of a small number of protesters were regrettable, Mehr reported.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he was “shocked and outraged” at the attack on the British embassy in Tehran and urged Iranian authorities to prevent any repetition.
Ban was speaking at a meeting with British international development minister Andrew Mitchell, according to a statement from Ban’s spokesman.
“The Secretary General said he was shocked and outraged to hear of the incident in Tehran in which demonstrators entered the British embassy, briefly abducted embassy staff and damaged property,” the statement said, according to AFP.
Ban welcomed the Security Council’s swift statement condemning the incident and called on Iranian authorities to investigate the incident and avoid any repetition.
Meanwhile, the speaker of Iran’s parliament criticised the UN Security Council over its condemnation of the storming of the British embassy in Tehran and said the resolution, passed unanimously on Wednesday, put global security at risk.
“The hasty move in the Security Council in condemning the students’ actions was done to cover up previous crimes of America and Britain while the police did all they could to keep the peace,” Ali Larijani told parliament in an address broadcast live on state radio.
“This devious action will lead to instability in global security,” he said.