Iran warns to expel british ambassador

Second Vice-Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Seyed Shahaboddin Sadr dismissed London's new sanctions against Iran's Central Bank as a "fruitless" measure and a "historical mistake", but meantime warned that in case London continues hostilities towards Iran, Tehran will expel the British ambassador."If such behaviors are continued, we will certainly expel the British ambassador as many plots inside the country have their roots in their devilishness," Sadr said. He also described the Wednesday approval of a double-urgency bill on downgrading relations with Britain as a measure adopted by the parliament to retaliate the inimical positions and behaviors of London towards Tehran. The double-urgency bill on lowering relations with London outpaced other bills standing on the Wednesday agenda of the parliament due to London's intensified animosity towards Iran, including imposition of an illegal embargo against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in violation of the international rules and regulations. The sanction against CBI and Iran's petrochemical industry was adopted in a unilateral move by the US, Canada and Britain outside the UN Security Council as other council members, specially Russia and China, had earlier warned against any fresh punitive measure, including sanctions, against Iran. The British government has also embarked on delisting the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its list of terrorist groups. On February 7, more than 30 Iranian legislators had signed the single-urgency for introducing the bill of the law on cutting political relations with Britain to the parliament and submitted the bill to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani for a final approval by all their colleagues. The 35 Iranian lawmakers who signed the preliminary bill described London's direct and indirect interference in Iran's internal affairs, hostile remarks and stances of the British officials against Tehran, financial support for seditious acts in Iran, media propaganda and spying activities against Iran as their reasons for supporting and introducing the bill. The bill necessitates the government to drop all its political relations with Britain and concurrently file lawsuits at Iranian and international bodies over the financial and spiritual damages inflicted on Iran by the British government so far. It also urges the government to inquire the parliament's view about the resumption of relations in case the British government apologizes and asks for resuming bilateral relations with Iran. Last December, the National Security and Foreign Policy commission submitted the bill to the parliament's presiding board for final discussions and approval by all parliament members. The Iranian lawmakers initially started drafting a bill to downgrade ties with London after Britain's direct involvement in stirring post-election unrests in Iran in 2009, but they intensified and accelerated the move after former British Envoy to Tehran Simon Gass criticized the human rights situation in Iran. "Today, International Human Rights Day is highlighting the cases of those people around the world who stand up for the rights of others - the lawyers, journalists and NGO workers who place themselves at risk to defend their countrymen," Gass said in a memo published by the British Embassy in Tehran on December 9. "Nowhere are they under greater threat than in Iran. Since last year human rights defenders have been harassed and imprisoned," Gass added. Other lawmakers, including head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, had previously blasted the negative role of the British ambassador to Tehran, and asked the country's foreign ministry to expel him from Iran. Following Britain's support for a group of wild demonstrators who disrespected Islamic sanctities and damaged private and public amenities and properties in Tehran on December 27, 2009, members of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission drafted bill of a law requiring the country's Foreign Ministry to cut relations with Britain. The British government's blatant stance and repeated remarks in support of the last year unrests inside Iran and London's espionage operations and financial and media support for the opposition groups are among the reasons mentioned in the bill for cutting ties with Britain. Iran has repeatedly accused the West of stoking post-election unrests, singling out Britain and the US for meddling. Tehran expelled two British diplomats and arrested a number of local staffs of the British embassy in Tehran after documents and evidence substantiated London's interfering role in stirring post-election riots in Iran.