TEHRAN -- A Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) official has voiced opposition against imposing a ban on British publishers in retaliation for Britain’s refusal to issue visas for several Iranian publishers who planned to participate in the London Book Fair.

“Taking such an action is a self-sanction,” TIBF international section director Mohammadreza Vasfi told the Persian service of the Fars News Agency on Tuesday.
He said that many countries have turned the spotlight on the TIBF due to the cancellation of several book fairs in the Middle East as a result of political uprisings in the region.
The 24th edition of the TIBF will be held in May.
The British Foreign Ministry refused to issue visas for Iranian publishers to take part in the London Book Fair, which ran from April 11 to 13.
The British Foreign Ministry said that it was not sure if the publishers would have enough money to come back home.
In addition, an official of the British Embassy in Tehran said that he had doubts if the main goal of the publishers was attending the book fair, and that he was not sure if they would return home after the fair was over.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the organizer of the TIBF, threatened that the Britain’s action would surely receive a firm response.