UK expels all Iranian diplomats over embassy attack

[Bosonic]

Source: BBC

The UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London.

Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Iran's parliament had previously voted to reduce diplomatic ties with the UK.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15966628

[dipsydoodle]

1. 48 hours to leave

and then never to darken our doorstep again...........well not for a few weeks anyway.

[Magoo48]

2. It appears it's time for a distraction from fiscal woes...

[Prometheus Bound]

6. Exactly what I was thinking.

Done with Iraq and Libya. Still in Afghanistan. Next up, possibly Syria, Iran, Pakistan. There's always someone to bomb the shit out of to take attention away from the real problems.

[Bosonic]

3. Dominoes keep falling

Norway Closes Iran Embassy As UK Attacked

(OSLO, Norway and LONDON) — Norway has closed its embassy in Tehran due to security concerns after Britain's mission was stormed by Iranian protesters, an official said Wednesday.

Hilde Steinfeld, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Oslo, said the decision to close the embassy was taken late Tuesday, but that Norway's diplomatic staff have not been evacuated from the country. "They're still in Tehran," she said.

Steinfeld would not go into greater detail, but said "the decision follows security concerns." She added that "it is in context with the attack on the British embassy yesterday."

Norway has four to five diplomatic staff deployed in the Iranian capital, she said.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2100722,00.html

Hungary barred Iran FM's plane from airspace: reports

Iranian authorities were seeking an explanation from Budapest for barring the overflight by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, after expressing scepticism at the vague official explanation, they said.

Several other EU nations had given permission for Salehi to fly through their airspace so he could attend a five-day conference in The Hague starting on Monday by the UN-recognised Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

"Although the foreign minister's plane had already obtained permission to travel through various European airspaces, Hungary withheld its permission, citing technical reasons," a foreign ministry source was quoted as saying on the web site of state television.

"Since the excuses put forth by the relevant officials were not convincing, we have asked the Hungarian ambassador for an explanation," the source added.

http://news.ph.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5591659

[Bosonic]

4. Bundle

Germany recalls ambassador from Iran: German media

Germany has recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultation after the British diplomatic mission in Tehran was stormed on Tuesday, German media reported on Wednesday.

Spiegel Online on its website cited the German Foreign Ministry as saying Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had decided to recall the ambassador. Magazine Stern also reported the ambassador has been called back to Germany.

According to the website of the German embassy in Tehran, the current ambassador is Bernd Ebel.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/30/us-germany-iran-ambassador-idUSTRE7AT1OT20111130

Britain to support Iran oil embargo: diplomatic source

Britain will support an embargo on Iranian oil imports following the deterioration of relations between the two countries, a diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday, in an apparent reversal of its former position.

"Now that the UK has downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran, it will support increased sanctions...and would likely go ahead with those sanctions unilaterally or with France and Germany," said a diplomatic source, referring to the ban on Iranian crude oil imports.

Britain shut down the Iranian embassy in London and expelled all its staff on Wednesday, saying the storming of the British diplomatic mission in Tehran could not have taken place without some degree of consent from Iranian authorities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/30/us-iran-oil-sanctions-idUSTRE7AT1QB20111130

[dipsydoodle]

7. Bundle.....lol

When we used that exprssion at school it meant a mass fight was imminent.

[Bosonic]

10. Serendipity

[Bosonic]

5. Another EU recall

France recalls ambassador to Iran

PARIS — France's Foreign Ministry says the country is recalling its ambassador to Iran for consultations after an attack on the British Embassy in Tehran.

The ministry says in a statement that France was moved to act "in the face of this flagrant and unacceptable violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and the gravity of the violence."

A ministry spokesman said earlier Wednesday that France had summoned Iran's ambassador to Paris to express French concerns over the attack.

The French government's spokeswoman said earlier that President Nicolas Sarkozy had told ministers that the international community "must heavily sanction Iran" for the attack — such as through a possible embargo on oil exports or the freeze of Iranian central bank holdings.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/france-recalls-ambassador-to-1245951.html

Iran says to take further action against UK

Iran said Britain's decision to close the Iranian embassy in London on Wednesday was "hasty" and that it would lead to further retaliation, state TV reported, quoting a government spokesman.

"The foreign ministry spokesman ... described the move as ... hasty and added that naturally the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran would take further appropriate action regarding the issue," the news reporter said.

Britain shut down the Iranian embassy in London and expelled all its staff on Wednesday, saying the storming of the British diplomatic mission in Tehran on Tuesday could not have taken place without some degree of consent from Iranian authorities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/30/us-iran-britain-embassy-reaction-idUSTRE7AT27S20111130

[Blue_Tires]

8. I've been trying to find out more about the actual incident

What happens to dipolmats and their families when this happens? Is there an escape route? a safe room or what?

and how did the protestors/vandals/whatever leave? where they all arrested? chased out with heavy force? did they all escape?

[Bosonic]

9. Link to original reports

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5073815

There may be more in depth reports available now, try Google News as a starting point.

[rethymnon]

11. What happens to dipolmats and their families

Is there an escape route? a safe room or what?

Often both. Typically the embassy staff get tipped off to these sorts of things in advance and have plenty of time to clear out. Often these locations have a relatively insecure outer area protected by local forces and an inner sanctum that has guest county forces.

[Ghost Dog]

12. "A poisonous serpent that every now and then crept up from India to devour succulent Persian fruit"

... First, Tehran estimates that a US-British-Israeli axis is in any case gearing up for a confrontation. The strategic ambiguity - "all options are on the table" - no longer exists really, after the hardline policy speech by US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon at the Brookings Institution in Washington last week...

... Second, Tehran estimates that this confrontation may take place within Obama's first term as president - because it may well ensure the success of his bid for a second term. The manner in which the Obama administration jacked up the tensions with Iran almost in parallel with the commencement of his re-election bid hasn't escaped Tehran's attention. Third, emanating out of the above, Tehran has little choice left but to take to the high ground, as it is no longer a matter of Iran being flexible on the nuclear issue or not, of Iran being conciliatory toward Israel or not, or of Iran being "moderate" on the Palestine problem and the Arab-Israeli conflict or not...

...The Iranian historical consciousness still regards Imperial Britain as a poisonous serpent that every now and then crept up from India to devour the succulent Persian fruit...

... In the Iranian estimation, Obama is simply not interested in hearing Iran's narrative. His obsessive concern is his 2012 re-election bid, and his campaign interests lie in diverting the locus of the political discourse away from his failings in mending the US economy. A regime change in Syria and a move toward cracking down on the Hezbollah are just the kind of decisive leadership that he needs to project to get over the image that he "leads from the rear"...

/... http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ML01Ak02.html

Very detailed Asia Times article.

Much more, on espionage and sabotage in Iran:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ML01Ak01.html
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MK30Ak01.html

[Purveyor]

13. Iran to Expel All British Diplomats, Staff in Hours

Source: FARS News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Foreign Ministry will most likely expel all the diplomats and staff members of the British embassy in Tehran in the next few hours after Britain escalated tensions between the two countries and closed down the Iranian embassy in London.

According to the rules of tit-for-tat diplomacy, Iran's Foreign Ministry will most likely expel all British embassy employees and diplomats in Tehran within the next few hours after the British government escalated tensions between the two countries and closed down Tehran's embassy in London and expelled all Iranian diplomats from the country.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced at about midday that his country had required the closure of the Iranian embassy in London and the departure from Britain of all of its staff within the next 48 hours.

"The Iranian charge in London is being informed now that we require the immediate closure of the Iranian Embassy in London and that all Iranian diplomatic staff must leave the United Kingdom within the next 48 hours," he said, addressing the Commons.

Read more: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007275547

[maddezmom]

14. they was going on before the UK expelled the Iranian diplomats

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=5072199

[dipsydoodle]

15. Exactly

Expulsion of the Iranian diplomats wasn' t announced until all of our lot were in the air on their way home.