Britain and Iran expel two of each other's diplomats ( Protests in Tehran)

http://www.timesofearth.com LONDON -- Britain expelled two Iranian diplomats in retaliation of Tehran's decision to order two British diplomats to leave the country, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday.

"Iran yesterday took the unjustified step of expelling two British diplomats over allegations which are absolutely without foundation" Brown told the House of Commons.

"In response to that action, we informed the Iranian ambassador today that we would expel two Iranian diplomats from their embassy in London," he said, adding that he was "disappointed that Iran has placed us in this position."

The two Iranian diplomats have not been named.

Britain's Foreign Office did not specify the identities of the individuals being expelled from Iran, except to say they are diplomats, rather than support staff, and the British ambassador is not one of them.

Iran has condemned the interference in the country's internal affairs by some Western countries, particularly the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

Britain has ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats, in tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of two British diplomats from Tehran.

Iran says on Tuesday it has expelled two British diplomats for what it called "unconventional behavior." The confirmation came after Britain announced it sent two Iranian diplomats home in response to Iran's expulsions.

Iran's official news agency, IRNA, is quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi as saying the diplomats were expelled on Tuesday. Qashqavi did not give any more details on the decision.

The Iranians have also expelled Jon Leyne, the British Broadcasting Corp.s Tehran correspondent. The broadcaster complained on June 19 that someone in Iran was attempting to jam its transmissions to the region, including its Farsi-language BBC Persian service. It has responded by increasing the number of satellites carrying the service and adding an extra five hours of programming.

Demonstrators gathered almost everyday in Tehran to protest alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential voting, which the Iranian authorities say was won by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but challenged by former prime minister and the opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

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