U.K. Withdraws Embassy Staff from Tehran

Orders Iranian embassy in London to shut down, too.

Relations between the U.K. and Iran took a nosedive today, as the U.K. withdrew all of their embassy staff from Tehran a day after it was overtaken by hardline student protesters. The British government is also closing the Iranian embassy in London in response to the riot, which could put Iran in contravention of the Geneva Code for failing to protect diplomatic staff. British Foreign Minister William Hague said he didn't believe that the embassy could have been stormed without the tacit consent of the Iranian government. The speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani, put the blame solely on the U.K., saying that "several decades of domination-seeking behaviour of Britain" prompted the protest. Norway has also closed its embassy in Iran over the row. Both the U.K. and U.S. have levelled sanctions on Iran in recent weeks aimed at curbing the country's nuclear program.