Stockholm/Brussels - European Union foreign ministries
summoned Iranian ambassadors in their respective capitals Friday in a
concerted diplomatic protest over the detention of British embassy
staff in Tehran.
The move was confirmed by diplomatic sources in Brussels and
other European capitals, with EU foreign ministries urging Tehran to
release the two staffers 'without delay'.
An email from the German foreign ministry in Berlin said it was
made clear to the Iranian ambassador that the arrest and
subsequent treatment of the employees of the British embassy was not
acceptable.
'Should there be no change in the current situation, this will
directly affect relations between Iran and the EU,' the German
Foreign Office told Iranian ambassador Ali Reza Sheik Attar.
In Finland, Finnish Under-Secretary of State Marjatta Rasi
said the detentions were 'against all established diplomatic
practices.'
The office of the EU's top foreign policy official, Javier Solana,
said it was following events closely.
'In the coming days we will evaluate whether to continue in this
step-by-step approach,' Solana's spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, told
the German Press Agency dpa.
Gallach said the issue would likely be raised at next week's Group
of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy.
Should the two embassy workers not be released by then, a
meeting of EU ambassadors scheduled for next Friday in Brussels would
decide on any further steps.
Of the nine embassy staffers that were detained in the aftermath
of Iran's contested presidential election, seven have since been
released.
On Friday, Iranian officials said the two remaining detainees
could face prosecution after allegedly admitting involvement in
demonstrations against the ruling regime.
'Do not take the issue easy, it is indeed more serious than
believed,' Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said at a Friday prayer ceremony
in Tehran.
The British Foreign Office dismissed the claims and expressed
'concern' at developments.
'Allegations that our staff were involved in fomenting unrest are
wholly without foundation. We will be seeking an urgent explanation
from the Iranians,' the Foreign Office said.
The decision to summon all Iranian ambassadors in the EU came as
French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Sweden for talks with Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country this week assumed the
rotating presidency of the EU.
Sarkozy expressed support for tougher sanctions against Iran, but
noted that it was 'up to Britain to tell us what they need.'
Reinfeldt said there was no consensus on sanctions within the
27-member bloc, and noted that popular protests in Iran should not be
used as an excuse for 'a conflict between Iran and the rest of the
world.'
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