Iran to give tough response to Western interference: lawmakers

TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian lawmakers said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would give tough response to foreign interference in the country's domestic affairs.

A statement which was signed by 215 of 290 parliament members and was read by lawmaker Jasem Saedi in the parliament condemned the United States, Britain and France for their interference in Iran's domestic affairs.

"The hasty and unwise explanations of the United States and French foreign ministers in support of rioters of Iran's post-election events and the meddling of the British Tehran embassy are clear examples of interference in Iran's domestic affairs," said the statement posted on the parliament's website.

Those examples of meddling are also "violation of the international regulations," the statement said.

"These countries should know that the era for interfering in Iran's internal affairs has already passed ... The great people of Iran and the Islamic government will give a severe response to the U.S. and UK," it said, without giving indication as to what response should be taken.

"We as the representatives of Iranians in the parliament strongly condemn such interference and urge the government and the president to readjust its relations with those countries according to their own behavior so that they may learn that Iran's response will not be limited to the words and statements," added the statement.

Tehran says that the West irresponsibly interfered in Iran's internal affairs in the post-election events in an attempt to implement a "velvet coup" against the country's religious system.

The United States and most of the European countries have urged Iranian officials not to crack down on the protestors after Iran's July 12 presidential election.

Earlier last week, spokesmen for U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said respectively their leaders would not congratulate the Iranian president.

"No one is waiting for the congratulatory messages from the Western leaders," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded during his swearing-in ceremony last Wednesday.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad said that his government will severely punish those bullying powers, which fanned the flames of Iran's post-election unrest.