AFP: Norway has temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran due to security concerns after the British mission in the Iranian capital was attacked by an angry mob, the government said on Wednesday.
OSLO (AFP) — Norway has temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran due to security concerns after the British mission in the Iranian capital was attacked by an angry mob, the government said on Wednesday.
Norway is the first country to announce such a closure in the wake of the attack on the British embassy.
Oslo’s diplomatic staff are still in Tehran and no decision has been taken to evacuate them, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hilde Steinfeld told AFP.
“The embassy was closed yesterday (Tuesday) after the attack on the British embassy,” she said.
“We are continuously evaluating the situation,” she said when asked how long the embassy would remain closed.
The diplomatic staff, which consists of a handful of Norwegian citizens, is still in Tehran and continues to work out of undisclosed locations, she said.
Asked about a possible evacuation, she said “it has been evaluated, but for now no such measure has been taken.”
Britain said on Wednesday that some staff at its embassy in Tehran were being evacuated for their own safety after the storming of two British compounds in Tehran by protesters angry at new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
The protesters were reflecting official anger at Britain’s decision last week to cut all relations with Iran’s financial sector as part of a raft of new sanctions unveiled in coordination with the United States and Canada.
The storming of Britain’s embassy sparked international condemnation, including a strongly worded statement from the UN Security Council.
