Cameron Warns Iran of 'Consequences' After Embassy Attack

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Cameron Warns Iran of 'Consequences' After Embassy Attack

British Prime Minister Cameron calls attack on embassy in Iran " a

disgrace, " warns the Islamic Republic of " serious consequences. "

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 11/30/2011, 8:59 AM

British Prime Minister Cameron warned of serious consequences on Tuesday,

after Iranian student protesters stormed Britain's embassy in Tehran.

" The attack on the British Embassy in Tehran today was outrageous and

indefensible, " Cameron said in a statement quoted by AFP.

He added, " The failure of the Iranian government to defend British staff and

property was a disgrace. We hold the Iranian government responsible.

" The Iranian government must recognize that there will be serious consequences

for failing to protect our staff. We will consider what these measures should be

in the coming days. "

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Iran, tore

down the Queen's picture and burned the British flag.

The students chanted, " Down with Britain " , " Down with America " , " Down with

Israel " and " Students are Awake and Hate Britain " . The students raised the

Iranian flag in place of the British flag.

The students threw stones at the embassy's windows as they raided the building.

Once inside, they threw firebombs. AFP reported that the protestors also

attacked another diplomatic compound in which six British diplomats were

staying. They were subsequently freed, unharmed, when police intervened.

Cameron's comments followed earlier warnings from Foreign Secretary

Hague, who said the assault on the embassy and the other diplomatic compound was

a " grave breach " of the Vienna Convention which requires host countries to

protect diplomats.

" The United Kingdom takes this irresponsible action extremely seriously, " Hague

was quoted as having said. " I spoke to the Iranian foreign minister this

afternoon, to protest in the strongest terms about these events and to demand

immediate steps to ensure the safety of our staff and of both embassy

compounds. "

Hague added that although the Iranian foreign minister had apologized for the

incident, " this remains a very serious failure by the Iranian government.

Clearly there will be other, further, and serious consequences. "

The attack on the British diplomatic compounds came just several days after the

Iranian legislature downgraded Britain's diplomatic status and gave the British

ambassador two weeks to leave the country.

The move by Iran came after Britain joined the United States and Canada to slap

tougher sanctions on Iran, in another attempt to force Iran to open up its

nuclear facilities for full inspection by United Nations officials.