Iran’s Parliament has approved all the general components of a plan to reduce diplomatic relations with Britain.
The plan swept to approval on a vote of 179 to four, with 11 abstaining.
Final approval of the motion will reduce economic relations between the two countries to an absolute minimum, while political relations would be reduced to the level of charge d’affaires, and the British ambassador would have to leave Tehran.
An earlier reading of the motion was approved four days ago with 162 votes in support.
The plan was put into motion in response to the British decision to boycott all transactions with Iranian banks including Iran’s Central Bank.
Britain has announced that its sanctions are in response to the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded that Iran may be trying to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation that Iran vehemently denies.
A number of Iranian MPs today demanded a complete severing of diplomatic relations with Britain, but representatives of the administration opposed it.
