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World Reacts to Iran's Post-Election Violence

By VOA News
22 June 2009

Western nations are denying Iranian government allegations that they are encouraging Iran's post-election violence.

The Czech presidency of the European Union on Monday invited EU member states to summon Iranian envoys to protest the violent response of government forces to anti-government demonstrators.

Britain, the target of some of the worst criticism from Iran, announced it is evacuating family members of its diplomatic staff stationed in Iran, while leaving staff members themselves in place. It also advised British nationals against travel to Iran.

Meanwhile, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem warned the West against intervention in Iran's internal affairs, saying it could harm negotiations between Iran and the United States. He made the remarks after a meeting Monday in Damascus with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen.

Also Monday, Iranian media said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called for a review of Iran's ties with Britain in a speech to parliament. Iran expelled the British Broadcasting Corporation's permanent correspondent in Tehran after accusing the BBC and the Voice of America of "engineering the ongoing post-election riots."

VOA Director Dan Austin has rejected Iran's accusations.

Sunday, British and U.S. officials both released statements saying they know of no foreign manipulation of the opposition.

Hundreds of people gathered across Europe and the United States Sunday to show their solidarity with Iranian opposition protesters, while Western leaders urged restraint from Iran's government in dealing with demonstrations.

And Italy said Monday it is waiting for a reply from Iran on an invitation to a meeting of the world's top industrialized countries later this week (in the city of Trieste) to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan. Italy's top diplomat, Franco Frattini, said if Iran does not respond by the end of the day, he will consider the invitation rejected.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.