Latest update: 01/12/2011 

- demonstrations - diplomacy - France - Iran - UK


France recalls ambassador to Iran, proposes sanctions

France recalls ambassador to Iran, proposes sanctions

France said on Wednesday it will recall its ambassador from Iran, one day after protesters stormed the British embassy in Tehran. The same day, the UK announced it would shut down the Iranian embassy in London over the incident.

By News Wires (text)
 

REUTERS - France is recalling its ambassador from Iran for consultations a day after protesters stormed the British embassy in Tehran, and will push for tougher sanctions at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday.

“Given the flagrant and unacceptable violation of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the seriousness of the violence, the French authorities have decided to recall their ambassador from Iran for consultations,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement.
 
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s chief of staff had earlier in the day summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Paris to condemn the attacks on the British diplomatic missions in Tehran, which forced London to close its embassy and evacuate staff.
 
“Tomorrow .... with our European partners, we will discuss further repercussions of this latest irresponsible behaviour by the Iranian authorities,” Valero said.
 
EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels to map out Europe’s response to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that suggested Iran has worked on designing an atom bomb.
 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed freezing central bank assets and halting oil purchases to press Tehran to halt its nuclear programme.    
 
The EU has already decided to add some 180 names to a list of people and entities targeted by pan-European sanctions, but with Britain now rallying to French calls for an oil embargo, more sanctions could now be imposed.
 
Officials have indicated Paris could adopt the measure alone, although for harsher sanctions to be really efficient it would prefer the move to be at a European level.
 
“It’s not that we don’t want to go alone, but for them to be really effective they have to be collective,” said one source.
 
In an interview with weekly magazine l’Express published on Wednesday, but carried out before the British embassy attacks, Juppe said:
 
“France wants sanctions that would really paralyse the regime: an oil embargo and freezing of the central bank assets.  Now the Americans and British are moving in that direction.
 
“We can’t accept that the Iranians continue to lead us up the garden path.”
 
Diplomats said earlier this week that the French proposal for an embargo is being met with resistance from some EU capitals, which could shrink the pool of backers.
 
In the first six months of 2011 France imported 1.6 million tonnes of Iranian crude.  

 

Date created : 30/11/2011 
Read more
React to the article
Comment this article typing your message in the above text zone. Please note that this is limited to 1500 characters or less.
(2) Reactions

but why

by mbaziira samuel kampala (not verified) - 02/12/2011 - 17:41

u should not do that bse u guys u have crippled the all world's economy

The unlawful attack on the UK

by Anonyme (not verified) - 01/12/2011 - 11:00

The unlawful attack on the UK Embassy in Tehran is NOT done by students and is NOT a representative behavior of majority of Iranians (or any Iranian students), but a minority group who have done the same to their own fellow countrymen for years.
Any kind of violence is strongly condemned by the majority!
I don't know how much the Iranians have to Humiliate because of what Iranian government and their dependent have done and still are doing!
It's not fair, I think the majority of Iranians really feel sad because of the incident happened in the British Embassy in Tehran.

Close