Foreign Office demands apology from Iran for ambassador's arrest
The Foreign Office summoned Iran’s envoy to London to demand a formal apology for the arrest of the British ambassador in Tehran on Monday as the diplomatic confrontation between Iran and the UK continued.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said Hamid Baeidinejad, the Iranian ambassador in Britain, was called in so ministers could protest the “flagrant” arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire in Tehran on Saturday.
Andrew Murrison, the Middle East Minister, said Mr Baeidinejad was given a dressing down.
Dr Murrison said: "The arrest of our ambassador to Iran was a flagrant violation of international law and it is important that Iran understands how seriously we take this matter.
"It must not be allowed to happen again. I made that clear to the Iranian ambassador this afternoon."
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday night issued a statement on the presence of UK ambassador at the vigil and his consequent brief detention, saying: “Any further and new UK mistake will be met with severe and appropriate response.”
Iranian police released a short video showing Mr Macaire on the campus of the Amir Kabir university as students protested over news that the Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner.
Iran said the video bolstered their case that Mr Macaire had been inciting the protesters against the government in Tehran. But the video shows the ambassador looking anxious and British officials said he left the campus shortly after it was filmed.
The British government said the ambassador had been attending a vigil for the 176 people killed on Flight PS572 and left as it started to turn into a protest.
Iranian security forces followed Mr Macaire to a barber shop nearby where they arrested him and held him for three hours before releasing him.
Iran has not apologised for the arrest and on Monday, an Iranian government spokesman said Mr Macaire had behaved in a way that was "completely unprofessional and unacceptable” by going to the university campus.
Mr Raab said the UK was monitoring security at the British embassy in Tehran after the incident.
“We today will be summoning the Iranian ambassador to demand an apology and seek full assurances this will not happen again. Given the treatment of the ambassador, we are keeping security measures for the Embassy under review,” he said.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "In relation to the arrest of the UK's ambassador over the weekend, I would say this was an unacceptable breach of the Vienna Convention and it needs to be investigated.
"We are seeking full assurances from the Iranian Government that this will never happen again. "The FCO has summoned the Iranian ambassador today to convey our strong objections.”
In a series of tweets, Mr Baeidinejad noted that the Foreign Office had urged British citizens to stay away from political protests in Iran. “It is logical to expect that this advice would be also heard by their ambassadors and diplomats,” he said.
