Iran says to take further action against UK

Majlis speaker says Iranians antipathetic towards UK after decades of hostile diplomacy from London.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
Iranian Parliament Speaker Larijani_311 (photo credit: Reuters/Caren Firouz )
Iranian Parliament Speaker Larijani_311
(photo credit: Reuters/Caren Firouz )
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.
RELATED:Britain downplays hostage crisis at embassy in IranWestern leaders demand Iran protect UK diplomatsBritain 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.
Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday that Tuesday's hectic student protest at the British embassy in Tehran was a reflection of the Iranian people's general antipathy towards the United Kingdom, according to semi-official Iranian FARS News Agency.
Larijani said that decades of hostile behavior towards Iran had generally soured public opinion of the UK.
Larijani said if London doubted his claims, they ought to conduct a poll.
On Tuesday, hundreds of angry protesters gathered at the United Kingdom's embassy in Tehran, causing damage to the British mission and clashing with police, who secured the release of six embassy employees that were reportedly held hostage by demonstrators.
Larjani's comments came as London announced it had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in Britain, and had closed the British embassy in Tehran in light of the incident on Tuesday.
Also on Wednesday, a senior member Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the mob of Iranian students that stormed two British embassy compounds, breaking windows and burning British flags, calling their actions "natural," semi-official Iranian FARS News Agency reported.
Ahmad al-Modallell told FARS that "It is natural for the Iranian nation, with the students at the top of them, to rise to clean this arrogant dirt from their country's soil," according to the report.
Modallel also said the British government is at fault for the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people, FARS reported.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a small but militant Palestinian group, is considered a terrorist organization by the UK.