THE mob attack on the British embassy in Tehran on Tuesday and the `law` passed to expel the UK ambassador a day earlier give an astonishing picture of the situation in Iran. Here is a country that is home to one of the world`s oldest civilisations allowing a mob to ravage an embassy. Not surprisingly, Britain has reacted by expelling Iranian diplomats on its soil. The Iranian foreign ministry regretted the attack on the embassy and on the diplomatic compound where British diplomats had been `sequestered` but Tehran will have to do a lot to convince the world that the government did not have a hand in it. The taking of American hostages during the early days of the revolution, when the US was closely identified with the ousted monarchy, was understandable, though not condonable, given the circumstances. But that a similar drama, though on a lower scale, should be enacted more than three decadesafter the revolution casts the present set of Iranian rulers in a bad light.
The mob attacked the embassy over Britain`s decision to slap new sanctions on Iran. While we have pointed out in these columns the futility of the sanctions, it should be noted that an oil-producing country like Iran is quite capable of withstanding the sanctions.
The country has means at its disposal to engage Britain diplomatically and adopt policies that help Iran economically and politically. But by letting the mob violate diplomatic norms, the Iranian government hasn`t earned any friends. While the UN and western powers have condemned the attack, even Iran`s friends will find it difficult to applaud the mob action. The diplomatic police came after the protesters had done their job. That will only add to the suspicion that a government which is increasingly dependent on religious leaders had a hand in the violence.
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