Iranian diplomats return home to a rapturous welcome

TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (MNA) – All Iranian diplomats, who were given 48 hours to leave Britain in response to the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran, arrived in the Iranian capital in the early hours of Saturday and received a warm welcome from a number of basiji students. A number of students from various universities entered the British Embassy compound in Tehran on November 29 and pulled down the Union Jack to protest against the British government’s hostile policies toward the Islamic Republic. Britain shut the Iranian Embassy in London and expelled its entire staff on November 30. Upon arriving at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, Iran’s charge d’affaires to Britain Safar Ali Eslamiyan told reporters, “Despite all the pressure, all the staff of the Iranian Embassy in London left the country’s soil with dignity,” and a number of the British government’s officials saw them off. He also said that no attack was carried out against the Iranian Embassy in London over the past few days. Asked if there is a possibility that the relations between Tehran and London will be increased again, Eslamiyan stated, “Iran is ready to establish relations with all countries on condition that the country’s national sovereignty is respected and Iran’s national interests are served.” Managing Director of the Iran Air Farhad Parvaresh told on Saturday that an special Airbus was sent to London to carry the diplomats back home as soon as possible.