AP, Brussels, July 7, 2009 – European Union nations are not ruling out tougher diplomatic action against Iran to win the release of a British Embassy employee who remains in detention, diplomats and officials said Tuesday.
They said envoys from the 27-nation bloc would meet Friday to discuss a possible travel ban against senior Iranian officials to protest the recent detention of British employees in Tehran.
British calls to coordinate a temporary pullout of EU ambassadors from Tehran is also still being considered, but many member states fear punishing the Iranian government too harshly could damage years-old efforts to negotiate with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.
Nuclear negotiations had stalled even before Iran’s crackdown on citizens demonstrating against what they say was a skewed election in favor of President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad last month.
The detentions of nine local staff at the British Embassy last week cranked up Iran’s standoff with the West.
Diplomats said a visa ban against Iranian officials was a ’long-term’ plan, which would also take into account involvement of Iranian leaders in the crackdown.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Agreeing to such measures would be an extraordinary move and signal to Tehran’s hardline leadership Europe’s protest over the detentions and alleged vote rigging during last month’s presidential elections.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt’s spokeswoman, Irena Busic, said in Stockholm that discussions with Iran were ’still ongoing’ and the EU wasn’t planning any new measures at the moment. Sweden is coordinating talks on the issue as it currently holds the EU presidency.
Busic noted that Iran released another British detainee after EU countries summoned Iranian ambassadors for a joint protest last week, suggesting the milder protest action was getting results.
Sweden is calling for a moderate response to the Iranian crackdown on protesters to avoid pushing Iran further into isolation. France and Britain are pushing for the bloc to coordinate a tougher line.