Iran’s parliament votes to downgrade UK ties

Iran’s parliament has voted to reduce diplomatic relations with Britain.

The move comes less than a week after the UK tightened sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.

“Death to Britain”, some MPs are said to have chanted. One warned Iranians could storm Britain’s embassy as they did to the US mission in 1979.

Britain’s ambassador will be forced out, leaving the Tehran embassy to be run by a charge d’affaires, if the bill passes one further legislative hurdle.

London banned all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts. It says there is evidence that Iran’s banks are involved in developing the country’s nuclear weapons programme. Tehran insists its atomic work is entirely peaceful.

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