Britain pulling embassy families out of Iran

posted at 3:10 pm on June 22, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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In times of overseas crisis, nations will issue travel advisories and remove non-essential staff if the situation deteriorates.  The UK has decided to evacuate the families of its embassy staff and warn its citizens against travel to Iran as the regime cracks down on protesters:

The Foreign Office said today it was evacuating the families of embassy staff in Iran and advised against all non-essential travel to the country after the violent crackdown on street protests following the disputed presidential election.

The decision comes after the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday described Britain as the “most treacherous” of Iran’s enemies and blamed foreign interference for the unrest in the country.

In response, Iran’s ambassador to London was summoned to the Foreign Office and told that Khamenei’s remarks were unacceptable. Gordon Brown later condemned the “repression” and “brutality” used against the protesters.

The Foreign Office said today: “The ongoing violence has … had a significant impact on the families of our staff, who have been unable to carry on their lives as normal. As a result, we are withdrawing dependants of embassy staff until the situation improves.

“We do not believe that it is necessary to reduce the number of staff at this time; however, we are monitoring the situation with the utmost vigilance. The security of our staff is of paramount importance.”

The UK took this step for more than just security issues, although certainly that is part of it.  The move slaps the Khamenei regime for its rhetoric against Britain, and it emphasizes the danger it sees in the regime’s security forces.  It’s a diplomatic as well as a security step, an escalation of Great Britain’s already bold statements against the regime, especially considering its trade relations with Iran.

That apparently didn’t sink in at Fox News, which reported the development as Britain “bailing” on Iran, as reported by Telegraph journalist Toby Harnden.  In the first place, the embassy staff will remain in place, which means Britain isn’t “bailing” at all.  Removal of non-essential personnel during large-scale unrest is standard operating procedure for diplomatic services, and assigning that even a hint of cowardice — which “bailing seems to imply — is grossly unfair.

The UK has taken the lead in keeping pressure on the Iranian regime, and we should be a little more supportive of its actions.

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