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People run past a burning bus on a street in Tehran as clashes kill at least 10 Iranians - Source: Reuters -
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Iran's intelligence minister said some people with British
passports were involved in post-election violence in the Islamic
Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
The statement by Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei was the latest in a
series of allegations by Tehran of a Western role in the most
widespread street unrest that has rocked Iran since its 1979
Islamic revolution.
He also said one of those arrested was "disguised as a journalist
and he was collecting information needed by the enemies," Fars
reported.
The same news agency said on Tuesday that a Greek journalist
covering the election for Washington Times had been arrested.
Mohseni-Ejei said: "Whoever, under any name or title, collects
information in Iran will be arrested and so far a foreign
journalist has been arrested."
He said another person had also been arrested and interrogated and
his equipment confiscated, without giving details.
Iran has accused the protesters of being backed by the West - the
United States and Britain in particular - and have paraded arrested
young demonstrators on state television confessing to being incited
by foreign news broadcasts.
London and Washington have rejected the accusations.
Britain said on Tuesday it was throwing out two Iranian diplomats
in response to Tehran's expulsion of two British diplomats as
relations hit a new low following Iran's election.
"Some people with British passports were involved in recent riots,"
said Mohseni-Ejei, according to Fars.
Official results showing hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
won re-election by a landslide sparked days of street protests.
His defeated moderate challenger, Mirhossein Mousavi, says the
vote was rigged.
At least 10 protesters were killed in the worst violence on
Saturday, and about seven more early last week.
State media has blamed the violence on terrorists and
vandals.
"Those who call on people to come to the streets ... they are
responsible for bloodshed," Mohseni-Ejei said, echoing a statement
by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 19.
"Those law breakers who invited people to the streets with their
statements are responsible for the bloodshed," the minister
said.
