Morning:
9°c
Downing Street said today it was "concerned" at reports that British Embassy staff in Tehran will face trial.
Gordon Brown's spokesman said urgent clarification was being sought from the Iranian government.
A senior Iranian cleric said in a Friday prayer sermon the employees, all Iranians, would be tried. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, claimed they had played a role in violent protests following the country's disputed elections.
The ayatollah, who is close to Iran's supreme leader, said the employees had "made confessions".
He claimed: "In these incidents, their embassy had a presence. Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions."
Seven of nine British embassy staff members detained by the authorities on 27 June have been released. Iran accused employees of playing a role in organising demonstrations that erupted over the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The country's ruling hardliners have condemned the protests as counter-revolutionary riots.
It is uncertain how many of the employees will be tried. At least one remains in custody and has been accused of playing "a significant role" in fomenting protests.
Britain has rejected the allegations as baseless and demanded the immediate release of the staff. EU nations are reportedly considering a proposal from Britain to recall all ambassadors from Tehran in protest at the Iranian action.
Iran has threatened to pull out of talks with the EU on its nuclear research, which is subject to UN sanctions, in protest over EU demands for the embassy employees to be released.
Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed shah, urged the international community and media to support the opposition movement. "The past three weeks, my brave compatriots have paid in blood the price of ripping the facade of acceptability of the regime in Iran," he said in Paris.
Reader views (1)
What I can't understand is why the story is being played out in all seriousness as though it were anything other than international politics, with the staff members as pawns. The Iranians need to prove that their allegations of British interference are based on fact to divert attention from their own failings - the only ones they can pin it on are the Iranian staff of the embassy; the only ones they can pressure into 'confessing' their participation are Iranian nationals.
No story there - just a tragedy of cynical political manoeuvring and machination at the highest level.
Sure, the Brits have done the same thing in their past, but it wasn't right then and is isn't right now.
- Rogan, Irving
