05/09/2003

British embassy staff allowed to leave Iran

Non-essential personnel at the British embassy in Tehran are to be allowed to leave the country following a gun attack on the building earlier this week.

However, the Foreign Office said that it did not consider that there was a threat to Britons living or working in Iran, and the announcement stopped short of advising British people to leave Iran.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office confirmed that staff would be permitted to leave the country due to an “increased threat” to the embassy.

It was stressed that the move was a security precaution and was in no way intended to infer that there was a downgrading of diplomatic relations between Britain and Iran.

Five shots were fired from the street at the building on Wednesday. Windows were broken, but no one was injured.

Relations between Britain and Iran have been strained following the arrest of an Iranian diplomat who is being sought by Argentine authorities in connection with a bombing in 1997.

(SP)

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