Britain's charge d'affaires in Tehran, Neil Crompton, was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran Sunday after an article critical of Iran was published in a British newspaper.
The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, said that the summons came after the Guardian published a report on Saturday that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw considered Iran a "growing threat."
The director of Iran’s Foreign Ministry's west European affairs, Shamseddin Khaqani, objected to the statements by British officials and demanded a response from London.
He also criticized the strong stand of the British official in favor of the proposed US anti-missile program, which has been widely protested by many countries.
He reminded the charge d'affaires that the British government should make more efforts to erase the Iranian public's historically negative image of that government, IRNA quoted him as saying.
For his part, the British charge d'affaires expressed regret over the article in the Guardian and stressed his government's strong determination to forge closer ties with Iran.
He also said that he would convey the protest of the Iranian government to British officials, according to IRNA – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
