Mr Miers (Middle East Dept)
c.c. Mr Morris (HKGD)
Mr Cooper (ECD (E))
Mr Greenstock (POD)
Mr Thomas (News)
HKL
20
INDEX.
3 JUN 1996
No!
езня
24
STAFF LEVELS OF IRANIAN EMBASSY, LONDON
1.
I confess to some misgivings about the
recommendation in your draft submission.
2.
You are proposing to go back on a formal obligation to our Community partners and a strong moral obligation to our American ally. The Community decision was publicly reached with some panache at Luxembourg. We are already under considerable criticism for our failure to live up to the retrospective element in the sanctions agreement of Naples. I fear that, when it becomes apparent that we are not doing what we have undertaken to do, we shall be open to quite serious criticism.
3.
The arguments for inaction rehearsed in your draft are precisely the same as they were when the original decision was taken. The Iranian Embassy seige provided ample justification at the time for delaying action but the excuse is becoming increasingly threadbare with time.
4.
This is not a major current embarrassment for News Department. There are occasional low-key enquiries, and some good-humoured leg-pulling. But it could blow up at any moment, and I think we shall need a better defensive line than reference back to the seige.
Entir
5./
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