 Hard-line Iranian politicians called on the government yesterday to sever all diplomatic ties with Britain in a rapidly escalating row over the opening of a new airport serving Tehran.
| "Yeah! Throw 'em out! Occupy their embassy!" |
Britain and Canada issued warnings on Friday to travelers to avoid using the Imam Khomeini International Airport, which opened on Saturday, due to concerns the runway may be unsafe. Iranian transport officials rejected the travel advisories and said the airport and runway had been inspected and approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Hard-line politicians ignored the dispute over safety and focused their ire on an alleged request by London that the name of the airport, dedicated to the founding father of the 1979 revolution Ayatollah Khomeini, be changed. "If Britain does not apologize to Iran we will break all ties with that country and expel Britain's ambassador," said Hamid Reza Hajibabaei, a member of Parliament's presiding board.
| "Ardeshir! Round up some hard boyz! We're gonna hold us a demonstration!" |
"If true, we should ... not allow any British nationals to enter our country and we should naturally cut economic ties with that country," agreed Hossein Shariatmadari, editor in chief of the hard-line Kayhan newspaper. The British Embassy in Tehran rejected the accusation as "nonsense". "We have never requested that the name of the airport be changed," said Charge d'Affaires Matthew Gould. "Our only consideration is for the safety of the runway." |