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Iran harassing staff: U.K.

LONDON: Britain on Sunday accused Iran of harassing its embassy staff in Tehran and demanded the immediate release of eight employees arrested on Saturday for allegedly fomenting “unrest”.

All eight were reported to be Iranians who worked in the British embassy.

The arrests and Britain’s angry reaction marked a new low in the worsening relations between the two countries in the wake of post-election protests that Iran claims have been engineered by western countries, especially Britain.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband rejected the allegation as “baseless” and hinted at a coordinated European Union response if the employees were not released.

“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.

Mr. Miliband said nine employees had been arrested but some had been released and Britain was “concerned” about those who were still in custody.

“We are still concerned about a number of them who to our knowledge have not been released... The numbers are changing hour by hour…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 said.

Earlier, the arrests were reported by the Iranian news agency Fars which said that those arrested had “a considerable role in recent unrest”.

The arrests came barely days after Iran expelled two British diplomats for alleged spying and Britain retaliated by throwing out two Iranian diplomats.

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