AFP: Austria is considering recalling its ambassador to Tehran after the British embassy there was stormed, the foreign minister said Wednesday, adding all EU states should discuss this week doing the same.
VIENNA, December 7, 2011 (AFP) – Austria is considering recalling its ambassador to Tehran after the British embassy there was stormed, the foreign minister said Wednesday, adding all EU states should discuss this week doing the same.
Several European nations including France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors after the November 29 attack, when protestors invaded and trashed the embassy and a second British diplomatic compound.
“I cannot rule out in the coming days or weeks taking a similar step,” Michael Spindelegger said, adding that an EU summit on Thursday and Friday was to discuss whether all members should follow suit.
Britain closed its Tehran embassy and expelled Iranian diplomats from London after the attack, with Foreign Secretary William Hague saying it could not have happened “without some degree of regime consent.”
European Union foreign ministers on December 1 piled pressure on Iran over its contested nuclear programme, slapping sanctions on an extra 180 firms and individuals and threatening to hit out at its vital oil sector.
The crisis-hit EU is however split on a possible oil embargo on Iran as well as over calls by some, including Britain, to agree an assets freeze on Iran’s central bank.
