Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 21 / Trend T. Konyayeva /
It is possible to solve the problems between Great Britain and Iran only through open and frank dialogue, the official representative of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.
"We are aware of the statement made by the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. This is the not the first time that the Commission has called for the Government to reconsider its relations with Britain," the official representative of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office told Trend via e-mail. The Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission approved a bill on Sunday that requires a complete break of ties, including political, cultural and economic relations with Great Britain.
The Commission's decision came after British Ambassador Simon Gass recently assessed the situation of human rights in Iran on the British Embassy website, saying that "the lawyers, journalists, NGO members experience such pressure nowhere in the world as in Iran." He also drew attention to numerous cases of arrests of human rights defenders in Iran.
Early last week, Simon Gass was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, where the inadmissibility of interfering in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran was pointed out to him.
A group of Iranian politicians of the conservative camp demanded the immediate expulsion of the diplomat from the country, who allowed "insulting and demeaning attacks" against the Islamic Republic of Iran, threatening the relations between the two countries.
According to the representative of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the important work done by the British Embassy in Tehran, is fully supported by the government.
The relations between Iran and Great Britain have been strained for a long time due to disagreements over Iran's nuclear program. Iran's accusations of involvement the western intelligence agencies, including the British foreign intelligence MI-6, in organizing the terrorist acts in Tehran on November 29 further complicated them. The nuclear physicist Majeed Shahriar died and the specialist in laser physics Fereydoon Abbasi was injured in these attacks.
Moreover, Iran has accused Great Britain of openly supporting the Iranian opposition and provocation, after massive street riots broke out in the country.
In reply to a question about possible impact of tension on the forthcoming talks on the Iranian nuclear program, the representative said that the talks concluded with an agreement to resume in Istanbul in late January, and the E3+3 want to discuss 'practical ways of cooperating towards a resolution of our core concerns about the nuclear issue'.
"We remain deeply concerned by Iran's nuclear programme. We want a negotiated and peaceful resolution of this issue," he said.
Another round of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue was held in Geneva on Dec. 6-7. The talks were held between six mediator-countries, including the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Iran.
The United states and other Western countries accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of peaceful nuclear energy program. Tehran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is aimed at meeting the country's electricity needs.
The U.N. Security Council adopted six resolutions in connection with the suspension of Iran's nuclear program, with four of them involving the use of economic sanctions on the country.