Iran agrees to expel UK ambassador

A bill to downgrade Iran's relations with Britain got final approval on Monday, state broadcaster IRIB reported, a day after parliament approved the measure compelling the government to expel the British ambassador. "The members of the Guardian Council, after examination of the plan, have approved it unanimously," Abbasali Kadkhodai, spokesman for the council, was quoted as saying on IRIB's website. The approval from the Guardian Council, a panel of 12 clerics and jurists who judge whether legislation is Islamic, reflects the urgency with which Iran is treating its reaction to punitive sanctions announced by Britain last week. Britain acted following a November 8 report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog citing intelligence indicating that Iran has worked on designing an atomic bomb. Iran says the intelligence is forged and that its nuclear energy programme has wholly peaceful aims. Passed by legislators who chanted "Death to England" on Sunday, the law is retaliation for London's decision to ban British banks from dealing with Iranian ones, including the Central Bank of Iran. Members of parliament said Iran would take similar action against any other countries that follow suit. A spokesman for Britani's Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Britain regrets an Iranian parliamentary bill demanding the expulsion of its ambassador to Tehran and is considering its next steps," on Monday. “Clearly we regret their decision to expel our ambassador. I think that decision will do nothing to help the Iranian regime address its growing isolation from the international community,” Cameron’s spokesman told reporters. “We will think about precisely how we should respond but there will be a meeting of EU heads of mission in Tehran today to discuss that and there will be further discussions on Thursday at the (European Union) foreign affairs council.” Britain’s Foreign Office on Sunday promised that it would respond “robustly” if ambassador Dominick Chilcott is expelled. European Union foreign ministers are due to meet on Thursday to approve new sanctions that could cut financial links and ban oil imports from Iran over suspicions that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons.