France and Netherlands summons ambassadors from Tehran

France's Foreign Ministry says the country is recalling its ambassador to Iran for consultations after an attack on the British Embassy in Tehran. The ministry says in a statement that France was moved to act "in the face of this flagrant and unacceptable violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and the gravity of the violence."

A ministry spokesman said earlier Wednesday, November 30, that France had summoned Iran's ambassador to Paris to express French concerns over the attack.

The French government's spokeswoman said earlier that President Nicolas Sarkozy had told ministers that the international community "must heavily sanction Iran" for the attack, such as through a possible embargo on oil exports or the freeze of Iranian central bank holdings, AP reported.

Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal has also ordered the Dutch ambassador in Iran to return to the Netherlands for talks.

The Dutch foreign ministry says the measure should be seen as a political signal and a token of solidarity with Great Britain. The security of Dutch embassy staff in Tehran was said not to be in jeopardy, news agencies reported.