Downgrading ties with Britain was a public demand

TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (MNA) -- The Iranian parliament’s approval of a bill to downgrade diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom was the direct result of the country’s hostile policies toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. The hostility shown by London in recent years, especially since Iran began its nuclear program in earnest, is absolutely undeniable. In fact, regime change is the official policy pursued by the British government toward Iran, and British officials brazenly express such hostility. The Iranian parliament’s decision to downgrade ties with Britain was a predictable response to all the hostility, and the members of the Majlis did not waste any time in responding to the legitimate public demand to cut relations with the UK. What matters, even more than the bill to downgrade relations with Britain, is how the MPs responded and the parliamentarians’ animosity toward Britain over its longstanding enmity toward Iran. The level of consensus in parliament to downgrade relations with London was unprecedented, and all the legislators were either in favor of the bill or more harsh action against Britain. The handful of MPs who voted against the bill believe that relations between the two countries should be completely cut off and that only downgrading relations after the recent hostile actions cannot be justified. The most important message of the recent parliamentary bill was that the Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain its relations with the British government as long as it is justified at the diplomatic level and if Britain wants to maintain a hostile stance toward the Islamic Republic, Tehran will cut off all diplomatic correspondence with the country. The message is also directed at other European countries that are following the same path in their relations with the Islamic Republic. As Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani noted after the ratification of the bill, this is only the beginning, and Britain and other European governments should be aware that Tehran has more options, and if necessary, will take more drastic measures to deal with the hostile moves against the Iranian nation.