Iran’s parliamentary committee votes to cut diplomatic relations with BritainDecember 20, 2010 - 09:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A committee in Iran’s parliament voted on December 19 to cut diplomatic relations with Britain, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “cooperation“ with major powers. The decision by parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee followed criticism by Britain’s ambassador to Tehran of Iran’s human rights record. “After voting by the members of the committee, it was decided to have diplomatic relations completely severed with Britain,” lawmaker Mohammad Karami-rad said. If the motion is backed by the full parliament it would put pressure on the government to downgrade relations with Britain at a time when a new foreign minister has called for “positive interaction” with the European Union. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani has been a rival of Ahmadinejad’s since losing to him at the 2005 presidential election and the replacement of the foreign minister has fuelled tensions between the two men. British Ambassador Simon Gass was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry on Monday after criticising Iran’s human rights record in an article on the embassy’s website. Britain maintains a full embassy in Tehran unlike its ally the United States which has no relations with Iran. Gass dismissed criticisms from lawmakers. “MPs claim to be offended by my Human Rights Day statement. But Iranian leaders regularly abuse other countries including UK,” he said in a message posted on Twitter, Reuters reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |