LONDON/PARIS/TEHRAN: Britain expelled all Iranian diplomats and shut its embassy in Tehran Wednesday after the mission was attacked by protesters Tuesday angry at fresh sanctions against the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

France, Germany and the Netherlands said they were recalling their envoys for consultations, despite Iran’s warnings that Britain would face “repercussions” for the recall, urging other European Union nations not to follow suit.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague accused the Iranian government of tacit support for Tuesday’s attack by hundreds of demonstrators, though he stopped short of cutting diplomatic ties altogether.

“If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here,” Hague said in a speech to parliament.

To cheers from lawmakers, Hague said he had ordered all Iranian Embassy staff to leave Britain within 48 hours and closed the mission in London immediately.

All Britain-based staff had also been evacuated from the embassy in Iran for their safety and the mission had been shut just minutes before he spoke, he added.

The protests in Tehran were called to vent anger over Britain’s announcement last week that it was halting all transactions with Iran’s financial system, including its central bank.

Iranian officials this week retaliated by passing a law to expel the British ambassador within days as diplomatic ties were downgraded.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had earlier promised “very tough action” following the violent scenes when around 200 protesters rampaged for hours through Britain’s two diplomatic compounds in Tehran.

They tore down the Union Jack flag, ripped up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II, trashed embassy offices, set documents alight, and briefly blocked the movements of six diplomats.

Iranian police, who initially appeared to do little to prevent the violence, eventually forced protesters to leave after firing tear gas and clashing with them, Hague said.

“The idea that the Iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful,” he said.

But he said the British actions did “not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety. It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations.”The United States demanded “clarity” from Iran Wednesday on whether it would protect foreign diplomats and backed Britain’s decision to expel the Iranian diplomats.

“We are looking for some clarity from the Iranian regime that they’re going to live up to their international obligations to protect the welfare and safety of diplomats,” said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman.

The situation dramatically heightened tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, which it insists is only for civilian purposes.

EU foreign ministers held talks Wednesday on issues including Iran, with Britain believed to be pushing for coordinated action that could include oil sanctions.

France, Germany and the Netherlands all said Wednesday they were recalling their ambassadors to Iran for “consultations,” while Norway closed its Tehran embassy and Sweden summoned the Iranian ambassador.

“Given the flagrant and unacceptable violation of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the seriousness of the violence, the French authorities have decided to recall their ambassador from Iran for consultations,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement.

“Tomorrow ... with our European partners, we will discuss further repercussions of this latest irresponsible behavior by the Iranian authorities,” Valero said.

In what appeared to be reprisal attacks, police in the Swiss capital Bern said they arrested two young men for throwing incendiary devices and stones at Iran’s embassy Wednesday.

The U.N. Security Council, the United States, the European Union and even Iran’s ally Russia all condemned the attacks as unacceptable.

But prominent Iranian MP Aladdin Brujerdi, the chairman of the Iranian parliamentary national security and foreign policy commission, Wednesday said “Britain is responsible for all the repercussions of its action.”

“We recommend other European nations not follow the policies of Britain and the United States,” Brujerdi said.

Iran’s foreign ministry had earlier expressed “regret” over the incident, and a senior policeman was quoted as saying that some protesters had been arrested.

Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani defended the protesters, saying they had been angered by the British government and “decades of domineering moves by the British in Iran.”

Britain’s sanctions against Iran’s financial system were announced in conjunction with similar measures by the United States and Canada following a U.N. report which crystalized fears about Tehran’s nuclear program.

The European Union’s foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels Wednesday to map out Europe’s response to the report. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed freezing central bank assets and halting oil purchases to press Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

The EU has already decided to add some 180 names to a list of people and entities targeted by pan-European sanctions. Diplomats said earlier this week that the French proposal for an embargo is being met with resistance from some EU capitals.