It is thought that Larijani does not approve of the legislation, but large numbers of Majlis deputies clearly want to show their might by cutting ties.
Former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was strongly opposed to severing relations and tried to buy off the Majlis with vague assurances that he would lessen ties and restrict relations. The new foreign minister, Ali-Akbar Salehi, has said nothing about Britain in public.
The issue was pushed to the front burner late in 2009 when police arrested some Iranians employed by the embassy and accused them of fomenting the post-election disorders on orders from London.
Interest faded as the months wore on, but was revived this past December when British Ambassador Simon Gass criticized Iran’s human rights record in a posting on the embassy website. Within weeks, the committee voted to end all ties.
Iran charged that Gass’s commentary amounted to interference in Iran’s domestic affairs. The fact that the Islamic Republic often makes critical remarks about other countries domestic policies had no impact on the debate.
Many in Iran also took it as an affront to the country when Queen Elizabeth II included Gass in her New Year’s Honors List. Numerous personal attacks on the queen appeared in print, although the monarch has nothing to do with selecting names for the honors list.