AFP, Paris, 30 Nov 2011- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has firmly condemned the ‘scandalous’ storming of the British mission in Tehran by an angry mob, the French government spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
During a cabinet session, ‘the president firmly condemned the scandalous attack on the embassy of Great Britain’ in the Iranian capital, which he said ‘confirmed’ the decision to impose new sanctions on Iran, the spokeswoman, Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse, told journalists.
The protesters rampaged for hours through two diplomatic compounds on Tuesday, tearing down the British flag, smashing windows, trashing offices, setting documents alight and briefly blocking the movements of six British diplomats.
The protesters had been taking part in demonstrations in front of the compounds with the approval of authorities, to reflect official anger at Britain’s announcement last week that it was cutting all relations with Iran’s financial sector.
France has been pushing its European Union partners to join Britain, the United States and Canada in imposing new sanctions to pile pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear activities.
France announced this month it will stop buying Iranian oil on a ‘national basis’ as part of the campaign.