Iran's parliament voted Sunday to reduce diplomatic relations with Britain, with one lawmaker warning that Iranians angered by London's latest sanctions could storm the British embassy as they did to the US mission in 1979. Iran's parliament voted Sunday to expel Britain's ambassador. A majority of 179 lawmakers voted in favor of reducing diplomatic relations to the more junior level of charge d'affaires within two weeks and paring economic relations with Britain to a minimum, according to a live broadcast on state radio. Four deputies voted against, and 11 abstained. The lawmakers also raised the possibility of punishing “other countries that behave in a manner similar to that of Britain.” “This (bill) is only the beginning,” parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani warned. The bill now has to go to Iran's Guardians Council for approval before it takes effect. Britain described as “regrettable” the vote, and warned London would respond “robustly” if the threat was followed through. “The Iranian parliament's vote to expel our ambassador is regrettable,” a Foreign Office spokesman said, adding: “If the Iranian government acts on this, we will respond robustly in consultation with our international partners.” It comes less than a week after London banned all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, as part of a new wave of sanctions western countries are imposing on Tehran. By announcing its moves ahead of other European Union countries, Britain — which Iranians often refer to as “the old fox” — is first in the firing line for retaliation by Tehran, but lawmakers said they would push to cut ties with other EU countries if, as expected, they follow London's lead. “The legislative branch is observing the behavior of the British government and this is just the beginning of the road,” speaker Ali Larijani told parliament. Lawmakers who spoke out against the bill did so because they deemed it not strong enough. “This plan should be firmer and stronger against Britain,” Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash told the house.
