I have just received word that in a short while, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce that two Iranian diplomats stationed in the Iran Embassy to the United Kingdom will be expelled.

According to a British diplomat with whom I spoke, the UK government regrets this decision but it is the only appropriate response after Iran announced yesterday that it was expelling two British diplomats from Tehran.

The British diplomat expressed "disappointment" in this turn of events and emphasized that the UK wanted "a constructive relationship" with Iran -- and that engagement has been the standing policy of the Prime Minister and of British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

-- Steve Clemons