Iranian MP Opposed to Paying Compensation for UK Embassy Damage
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker emphasized that no compensation should be paid to Britain over the 2011 attack on its embassy in Tehran because of the UK’s failure to compensate the deadly siege of Iran’s embassy in London back in 1980.
The Britons are demanding compensation for (the incident), while the Iranian Embassy in London was attacked and damaged and even two people lost their lives but Britain did not pay any compensation, he said, adding that if Iran is supposed to pay any compensation, the Britain should do the same.
“Iran’s history is full of cases of Britain’s hostility toward the Iranian nation, especially after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979”, Rapporteur of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday.
During the years after the Islamic Revolution, Britain appeared to be the enemy of the Iranian nation and took meddling and hostile stances against the country every so often, he added.
The Iranian lawmaker also commented on the incidents that happened in Iran during the post-election unrest in 2009 and described the British embassy’s support for the seditionists as a clear example of London’s interference in Iran’s internal affairs.
Naqavi Hosseini went on to say that although he does not approve of the incident that happened to the British Embassy in Tehran, but the Iranian people had the right to be outraged by the hostile measures of the country.
The Iranian Embassy siege took place from April 30 to May 5, 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London. During the siege, 2 Iranian diplomats were killed.
Tehran-London relations became tense three years ago. On November 27, 2011, a large majority of Iranian lawmakers voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain, following Britain's decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.
Later, a group of angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran and pulled down that country’s flag.
Following the incident, Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from the country on November 30 and asked Iran’s diplomatic delegation in London to leave within 48 hours.
Iran and Britain agreed in October last year to appoint non-resident chargé d’affaires as a first step toward reopening their respective embassies.
The development followed a September meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and William Hague in New York, during which the two top diplomats discussed ways to improve Tehran-London ties.
Earlier in March, in a video message released on the advent of the new Iranian year, Britain’s Hague underlined his country’s commitment to improving strained relations with Iran.
Signaling London’s willingness for a thaw in strained relations with Tehran, Hague said, “I want to say to the Iranian people that the UK looks forward this year to improving relations with Iran.”
