TEHRAN, May 1: Iran decided to halt all dialogue with the European Union and ruled out the early return of Germany and Danish ambassadors in retaliation for the EU's latest measures against the Islamic Republic.

The foreign ministry announced in an official statement yesterday that it would break off ``all talks on human rights, terrorism and arms control,'' including those on the Iranian death sentence for British writer Salman Rushdie for blaspheming Islam.

``Iran has not detected the necessary goodwill and political independence in the European Union,'' it said.

``Under the present circumstances, Iran finds the continuation of the critical dialogue lacking the necessary effectiveness and inconducive to the promotion of mutual understanding.''

``Therefore, Iran will refrain from engaging in any discussion over other subjects of critical dialogue, including human rights, terrorism, and conventional, nuclear and chemical weapons with the European Union.''

Yesterday, EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg banned ministerial visits to or from Iran over Tehran's alleged involvement in the 1992 assassination of four Kurdish dissidents in Berlin.

They also agreed there was no basis for continuing their ``critical dialogue'' with Iran, and to cooperate in expelling Iranian spies and ensuring other intelligence agents do not get visas.

But economic sanctions, as sought by the United States, which aim to isolate Iran, were unanimously rejected.

Iran's paramount leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the foreign ministry ``not to allow the German ambassador to return to Iran for some time,'' and described the Europeans as ``Iran's enemies''.

``We don't give a damn about your ending the critical dialogue. We never sought such a dialogue, and we have more criticism against you than you do against us,'' he said. ``We have withstood greater animosities than those coming from you,'' Khamenei said, adding that the EU statements were ``very rude and nonsensical.''

He also asked that Iran's top envoys to the EU countries ``not to show haste in returning to their posts.''

The German foreign ministry, for its part, said today that it would not make a statement before ``verifying'' Iran's decision not to allow the German and Danish ambassadors to return to Tehran.

``It is too early for a reaction,'' said ministry spokesman Horst Freitag in Bonn. ``We are trying to clear up the situation.''

He would not say whether German authorities had contacted Tehran to discuss the matter.

European Union governments were also holding discussions on how to react to Iran's refusal to allow Germany's and Denmark's ambassadors to return to Tehran, French officials said.

``We are consulting with our European partners on this subject,'' said foreign ministry spokesman Jacques Rummelhardt, saying that in principle the ambassadors should ``return normally to their posts''.

Germany was singled out because Bonn is deemed to be at the centre of the crisis between Iran and the EU.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.