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 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 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". Partner news | Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. Moscow says ready to support Yerevan-Baku reconciliation Moscow has confirmed its readiness to support the reconciliation of Yerevan and Baku. Yerevan sends amended draft peace treaty back to Baku According to Ani Badalyan, the 9th edition of the amendment has been sent to Baku. IDBank, Dalma team up for Caucasian Deer Reintroduction Program IDBank has joined Dalma Garden Mall’s Green Challenge to support the Caucasian red deer reintroduction project. |