Matthew Gould, Britain's chargé d'affaires, was told that Teheran was prepared to take unspecified steps in its relations with Britain unless London intervened to stop Hadi Soleimanpour being extradited to Argentina in connection with the bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires. Mr Khatami said on state television: "The Iranian government will take strong action on this issue." He also demanded an apology from Britain. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is sensitive about all its citizens, particularly those who have responsibility, and it will not compromise on this," he said.
| "I mean, it coulda been me, in my younger days..." |
The issue threatens to become a severe setback to years of painstaking diplomacy that have improved relations between Teheran and London to their best level for more than 20 years. Mr Gould said he told Iranian foreign ministry officials that Mr Soleimanpour's arrest in connection with the blast, which killed 85 people, was not politically motivated and that Britain's judiciary was independent of the government. He was first called in on Saturday and asked to convey Teheran's "strong objection" to the arrest. He was told that Iran wanted Britain to use its influence in Buenos Aires to have the charges dropped.
| "Yasss... In the interests of better relations, we'd like your collusion..." |
Israel and America said at the time of the blast in 1994 that they believed Iran had been behind the action. Mr Soleimanpour, 47, was arrested in Durham, where he took up a university research post in February. Iran is cutting its cultural and economic ties with Argentina as a result of the row. Extradition requests are open to appeal and involve a lengthy process before a conclusion. |