By Martin Banks - 1st December 2011
We must now look to all options
Richard Howitt
UK deputy Richard Howitt has condemned the "outrageous" attack on the British embassy in Tehran.
The Labour MEP has now asked the British foreign secretary, William Hague, to consider using the EU embassy as a base for remaining UK embassy staff.
He says it would allow them to continue their work on the ground and maintain a representation in Iran.
Howitt said, "This attack on our embassy while Iranian security looked on was an outrage.
"We must now look to all options for how we deal with Iran and one proposal could be to base core FCO embassy staff in the European external action service embassy in Tehran for their own protection."
Howitt, UK Labour party spokesperson on foreign affairs in parliament, added, "It would also enable the EU to demonstrate its own solidarity in our dealings with Iran."
Meanwhile, on Thursday it emerged that Britain may press for further sanctions against Iran's energy sector, reports say, after the storming of British diplomatic compounds in Tehran.
On Wednesday, the UK announced that it was expelling all Iranian diplomats and closing the Iranian embassy in London after the attacks of the previous day.
Hague also announced that all UK staff had been evacuated and the embassy closed.
Tuesday's storming of the UK embassy on Tehran by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
But diplomats say the attack could go some way towards convincing EU countries that stronger action against Iran is needed.
