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| Britain |
| UK fury as staff arrested in Iran |
| 2009-06-28 |
| The UK has demanded the immediate release of Iranian staff at its Tehran embassy who were arrested on Saturday. Iranian media earlier reported that eight local staff at the mission had been detained for their "considerable role" in post-election riots. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband called the arrests "harassment" and dismissed the allegations as baseless. Relations between the countries are strained after Tehran accused the UK of stoking unrest, which London denies. Iran has repeatedly accused foreign powers - especially Britain and the US - of stoking the unrest that swept the country after the 12 June election, which handed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a decisive victory. In the fallout of the crisis, Tehran expelled two British diplomats in the past week, and the UK has responded with a similar measure. Mr Miliband said about nine employees had been detained in total, but some had been released. "We are still concerned about a number of them who to our knowledge have not been released... The numbers are changing hour by hour," he said on the sidelines of a European security meeting on the Greek island of Corfu. 'The idea that the British Embassy is somehow behind the demonstrations and protests that have been taking place in Tehran in recent weeks is wholly without foundation," he added. A strong protest had been made directly to the Iranian authorities, but there had been no response. Mr Miliband said he would discuss the arrests with his European Union colleagues. "All European countries have made clear that they want to stand together in standing up for the diplomatic principles that are important for our diplomatic activity all over the world," he said. The arrests were first reported by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. "Eight local employees at the British embassy who had a considerable role in recent unrest were taken into custody," Fars said, without giving a source. Some 17 people are thought to have died in street protests after the disputed presidential poll, which the opposition complains was rigged. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 Strongly worded hot air with nothing to back them up at all. This is the truth the Iranians know about the UK and EU. Nothing will come of it so they are free to do as they want. Look for Iran's covert and non-covert interference in Iraq and Afghanistan to increase. |
| Posted by: Sockpuppet of Doom 2009-06-28 17:54 |
| #2 After Britain's reaction to their Navy personnel being taken prisoner a while back it's no surprise they're being pushed around again. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2009-06-28 15:57 |
| #1 I'm sure no one is considering an unscheduled midnight sunrise over the city of Qom, but that seems to be the only thing that might POSSIBLY work to change the minds of some of the mullahs. It would also frustrate dinner-jacket to no end - he's sure the "12th imam" will come up out of a well in Qom. Kinda hard to do through radioactive glass... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-06-28 14:18 |