London, Dec 1 (IANS) Britain, whose embassy in Tehran was stormed, will call for stronger economic sanctions against Iran at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday.
‘I will be advocating an intensification of economic sanctions on Iran, particularly to increase the isolation of the Iranian financial sector,’ the Daily Telegraph quoted Hague as telling BBC Radio.
Hague hoped the measures the ministers agree to were ‘related to the Iranian nuclear programme’ and not in reaction to what has happened at the embassy.
Britain closed the Iranian embassy in London and expelled all its staff Wednesday, saying the storming of the British mission in Tehran Tuesday could not have taken place without consent from Iranian authorities.
‘Our bigger, long-term concern is the Iranian nuclear programme, the danger that poses to the peace of the Middle East and the wider world, and it is for that reason that we will agree, I hope, to intensify European Union sanctions on Iran,’ Hague said.
The EU foreign ministers’ meet in Brussels would map out Europe’s response to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that suggested Iran has worked on designing a nuclear bomb.
Britain also severed all financial ties with Iranian banks in response to mounting fears over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran responded by passing a legislation downgrading diplomatic ties with Britain, which was followed by the attack on the embassy.
The Iranian foreign minister, however, later apologised for the incident.
