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UK Secretary of State David Miliband - Source: Reuters -
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Iran said five of the nine detained local staff at the British
embassy in Tehran had been released while the other four were being
held for questioning.
Iranian media said on Sunday several local embassy staff had been
held on accusations of involvement in the street protests that
rocked Iran after a disputed June 12 presidential election.
"Out of nine people, five of them have been released and the rest
are being interrogated," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi
told a news conference in comments translated by Iran's
English-language Press TV.
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the
Iranian authorities for detaining local embassy workers in Tehran.
Speaking at a news conference in Downing Street, Brown said he was
"deeply disappointed".
"Iran's action ... is unacceptable, unjustified, and without
foundation," he told reporters.
On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded the
release of all the staff held and said his European Union
colleagues had agreed to a strong, collective response to any
harassment and intimidation against EU missions.
Iran has stepped up accusations that Western powers - Britain and
the United States in particular - are interfering in its internal
affairs and fomenting post-election unrest.
London and Washington have denied the allegations.
Qashqavi said Miliband and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki had spoken on the phone on Sunday evening when Miliband
stressed Britain's intention was not to interfere in Iran's
internal affairs.
"Mottaki said that if they really prove this in practice ... this
can be considered as a positive step," Qashqavi said.
Iran's Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said on
Sunday the British embassy had played a role in the unrest
following this month's election, including sending people among the
protesters telling them what to do and what to chant.
Britain and Iran have already expelled two of each other's
diplomats since the election, which stirred Iran's most striking
display of internal dissent since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Mottaki was last week quoted as saying Iran was reviewing
whether to downgrade ties with Britain. Qashqavi said closing down
any foreign embassy or reducing diplomatic ties was not on Iran's
agenda.
Qashqavi also said Iran expected Sweden to pay damages after about
200 protesters, some wearing masks and hurling stones, demonstrated
outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm on Friday.
He blamed an exiled Iranian opposition group as well as communists
and monarchists for the incident, in which he said three of our
colleagues were injured.
Stockholm was known for being an unsafe city for diplomats, Qashqavi said.
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