Iranian diplomats expelled from London arrive home

Iranian diplomats expelled from London in retaliation for attacks on British compounds in Tehran have arrived home, the oficial IRNA news agency reports, sealing Iran's most serious diplomatic rift with the West in decades.
About 150 hard-liners waiting with flower necklaces were gathered at Tehran's Mehrabad airport early Saturday to give the roughly two dozen diplomats and their families a hero's welcome. But the Iranian goverment, apparently opposed to any high-profile display that could worsen the fallout, took the diplomats off unseen from a backdoor, reflecting Iran's own internal political rifts.
Tuesday's storming of the British Embassy and residential complex - which the British government alleges was sanctioned by Tehran's ruling elite - deepened Iran's isolation, which has grown over the decade-long standoff with the West over its nuclear program.
Germany, France and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors, and Italy and Spain summoned Iranian envoys to condemn the attacks.
It amounted to the most serious diplomaticfallout with the West since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy after the Islamic Revolution, and some Iranian political figures have voiced doubts over whether anything can be gained from escalating the diplomatic battle.
The obstruction of Saturday's welcome ceremony reflected the disagreements between hard-liners and the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which opposed downgrading relations with Britain and condemned the attack on Britain's embassy.

thejakartapost.com

Posted in: English Article