Source: IRNATehran, Dec 1, IRNA – UK's today behavior has roots in its dead British Empire nostalgia, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said here Wednesday.
Speaking to Channel two of the Iranian TV, Larijani noted that the UK hostility toward Iran is historical and they continued to have their past colonial behavior against the Iranian nation even after the 1979 revolution.
'London could have change the way and taken a more logical stand towards Tehran after Iran's revolution,' he said.
The Iranian Parliament Speaker underlined that the Iranian Parliament's decision to reduce the level of relations with the UK is because of that country's adventurous behavior against Iran's national interests.
Referring to the expelling of the Iranian diplomatic staff from UK, he continued that the 'UK officials' reaction to the Iranian students' occupation of UK Embassy in Tehran was amateurish'.
'Diplomatic missions have their own formalities and obligations and they should not be misused against the host countries,' Larijani stated.
The British Foreign Secretary William Hague Wednesday evening in an address at the British House of Commons ordered that the IRI Embassy in London must be shut down and the Iranian diplomats and embassy staffs, too, must leave the country within 48 hours.
'This does not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety. It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations,' said Hague.
The attacks on British Embassy and Qolhak Garden come two days after the Iranian parliament approved a Bill reducing diplomatic relations with Britain following London's support of recently-upgraded US sanctions on Tehran.
The Bill - which marks a new low point in diplomatic tensions between London and Tehran - requires Iran and Britain to withdraw their ambassadors from each other's country and reduce representation to the level of charge d'affaires.
Iranian parliament on Wednesday ratified emergency of a two-star bill which entails reducing of ties with Britain.
The bill received 162 votes in favor from among 198 votes cast by Majlis deputies.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and London have considerably deteriorated in recent years.
On April 30th, 1980, the Iranian Embassy was overtaken by a six-man terrorist team who held the building for six days and killed two Iranian diplomats.
After the Revolution of Iran in 1979, Britain suspended all diplomatic relations with Iran. Britain did not have an embassy until it was reopened in 1988.
London's illogical opposition to Iran's peaceful nuclear program also continues to remain a serious obstacle in the improvement of Tehran-London ties.
In the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian presidential election, the UK-Iran relations were further tested. On June 19th, 2009, the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei described the British Government as the 'most evil' of those in the Western countries, saying that the British Government sent spies to Iran to stir emotions at the time of the elections. Iran then proceeded to expel two British diplomats from the country, for their activities which were inconsistent with their diplomatic status.
On June 24th, 2009, the Iranian foreign minister at them Manouchehr Mottaki announced that the country was considering 'downgrading' its ties with the UK.
Four days later it was reported that the Iranian authorities had arrested a number of British Embassy staffs in Tehran citing their 'considerable role' in the unrests.
