Oman to take care of Iran’s interests in UK

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The decision by Tehran was based on a Majlis approval to downgrade diplomatic ties with London as a result of the UK’s miscalculated and hasty stance which led to the closure of both Iranian and UK embassies in both countries.

The UK had in turn named Sweden as the country responsible for its interests in Iran, which was welcomed by Iran.

Now Iran is busy drawing up necessary diplomacy to deal with the governments of Oman and Sweden to handle consular affairs in connection with British citizens.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry refuted the UK claims that Tehran was involved in recent events in the UK Embassy in Tehran, terming the claims as “absurd, unrealistic and contradictory to official statement of Iranian Foreign Ministry and laws of the country.”

It said that evidently, the change in behavior and political literature of the British statesmen on Iran would be the main criteria in Iranian officials’ decision to reconsider ties at an appropriate time.

British Foreign Office said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with Sweden allowing it to represent British interests in Iran.

Tehran had also announced earlier that Oman would play the same role for Iran in London.

Britain said on Thursday Sweden would look after its interests in Iran as part of a deal hammered out after the UK closed its Tehran embassy late last year.

Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday it had agreed to perform the same role for Britain in Iran.

A new British interests section would open in Sweden’s embassy in Tehran from July 15, Britain’s foreign office said. It would provide emergency consular services and look after British Embassy staff and property in the Islamic state.

"We have had an embassy in Iran for many years. And we would like to do so again in the future. But until that time arrives, we are confident that our interests in Tehran will be well looked after by the Swedish Embassy," the foreign office said in a statement.

Iran and Britain shut down their diplomatic missions last year over Britain’s key role in the imposition of a new set of western sanctions against Iran and its repeated meddling with Iran’s domestic affairs.

Iran recalled all its staff and closed its embassy in London in November after Britain recalled its diplomatic mission in Tehran due to massive protests in front of the British embassy complex by thousands of Iranian students who demanded a cut of ties with London.

The Iranian students’ November protests at the British mission came after the Iranian legislators in an open session of the parliament in November approved the bill of a law on downgrading relations with Britain. After the parliament approval, Iran expelled the British ambassador from Tehran.

The parliament approval came a week after the US and Britain targeted Iranian financial sectors with new punitive measures, including sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank and petrochemical industry.

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.

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.

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 completely.

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.

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