EU summons Iranian diplomats in protest at British arrests (Roundup)

Jul 3, 2009, 15:30 GMT

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.'