AFP, Evian-Les-Bains, France, July 6, 2009 – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Iran Monday that the European Union was ready to act in response to British embassy staff detentions and expulsion of diplomats.
’The Iranian regime must be clear that if this action continues and we are forced to act, we will act together with our European partners,’ Brown said at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
We both agree that the outcome of Iran’s election is a matter for the Iranian people,’ Brown said in the Alpine town of Evian-les-Bains.
’But the totally unjustified expulsions of foreign diplomats and continued detention of embassy staff is unacceptable and unjustified,’ he added.
Sarkozy expressed France’s ’total solidarity’ with Britain over the diplomatic crisis with Iran and described Tehran’s action as ’disproportionate’.
’The Iranian people deserve better than this from their leaders,’ said Sarkozy.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was ’in total solidarity’ with Britain. ’We were particularly shocked by the very unfair, disproportionate attacks on the British government,’ he said.
Tehran and Washington engaged in a new war of words over the nuclear programme on Monday after Vice President Joe Biden said the United States would not stand in Israel’s way in its dealings with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
’If this action continues and we are forced to act, we will act together with our European partners,’ Brown said at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy said France was ’in total solidarity’ with Britain over the arrests, as the two leaders held a summit in France ahead of the G8 in Italy later this week.
’If this action continues and we are forced to act, we will act together with our European partners,’ Brown said at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy said France was ’in total solidarity’ with Britain over the arrests, as the two leaders held a summit in France ahead of the G8 in Italy later this week.