Iran issues Statement on UK’s Exit from EU

The Iranian foreign ministry’s statement was issued after the Britons voted to the exit of their country from the European Union with 51.9 percent of the votes in contrast to 48.1 percent of those who voted in favor of staying in the union. Over 72 percent of the eligible voters took part in Britain’s referendum which was the highest since 1992 general elections in that country.

“Iran respects the British people’s vote to leave the European Union, and deems it to be in agreement with the will of the majority of the country’s people in regulating their foreign relations,” the Foreign Ministry’s statement read.

The statement said the decision would not affect Tehran’s relations with the European Union.

Following the announcement of the results on Friday, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, saying he would leave office by October, when his ruling Conservative Party will hold a conference.

Cameron said there is no doubt about the result of the referendum but that he is not the “captain” that will steer the ship through difficult negotiations with the EU.

Membership of the European Union has been a controversial issue in the UK since the country joined the then European Economic Community in 1973.

Those in favor of a British withdrawal from the EU argued that outside the bloc, London would be better positioned to conduct its own trade negotiations, better able to control immigration, and free from what they believe to be excessive EU regulations and bureaucracy.

Those in favor of remaining in the bloc argued that leaving it would risk the UK’s prosperity, diminish its influence over world affairs, and result in trade barriers between the country and the bloc.

The foreign ministers of the original six founding nations of the European Union, namely Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg will get together in the German city of Berlin on Saturday to discuss “current European political topics.”

The British pound slumped to its lowest level in more than three decades after the UK voted to leave the EU.