Iran warned Britain Friday ties will suffer if London does not release a former Iranian diplomat sought by Argentina in the bombing of a Jewish community center, state-run Tehran TV reported Friday. Iranian-British relations soured following last month's arrest of former Iranian diplomat Hade Soleimanpour in England over the 1994 bombing that killed 85 people in Argentina. State-run Iranian media also said British troops in Iraq are holding two Iranian documentary filmmakers Saeed Aboutaleb and Soheil Karimi. "The continued detention of Soleimanpour and the two documentary filmmakers will leave very destructive effects on the two countries' relations," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi reportedly said. The report said that Kharrazi discusssed the matter by telephone with his British counterpart Jack Straw.
"Hello, Jack? This is Kamal. Cough 'em up."
"No."
"You don't want anything blown up in London, do you?"
"Do I look South American? G'bye." |
Last week, a London court ordered Soleimanpour remain in custody until his extradition case beings Sept. 19. Tehran called for his release, saying the charges are politically motivated. |