Britain called on Iranian authorities to immediately release a group of local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran who, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, are accused of involvement in post-election unrest. - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called Saturday’s arrests of eight or nine staff members "harassment and intimidation." - "The United Kingdom is deeply concerned at the arrests, and in some cases, continued detention of some of our hardworking locally engaged staff in Tehran," he said Sunday while attending a meeting of foreign ministers on the Greek island of Corfu. - "This is harassment and intimidation of a kind which is quite unacceptable. These are hardworking diplomatic staff," Miliband told reporters. - "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." - Miliband said four of the Iranians detained had been released but added, "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 British Foreign Office said its Tehran embassy has a staff of more than 100, including at least 70 locally hired Iranians. - The detentions signalled a further toughening of Iran's dealings with the West, which has become increasingly vocal in its condemnation of a crackdown on opposition supporters. - Iran has accused Western powers — mainly Britain and the U.S. — of inciting the protests, sparked by allegations of a fraudulent vote count following the June 12 presidential election that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. - In recent days, the Iranian government has widened a clampdown on opposition supporters who allege the presidential election was rigged. - Britain expelled two Iranian diplomats Tuesday in retaliation for Iran's decision to order out two staff members from the British Embassy in Tehran. - On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced what he called "interfering statements" by Western officials following the election. - He also urged both sides in the bitter dispute "not to stoke the emotions of the young or pit the people against each other." First unrest since Wednesday - Several thousand protesters — some chanting, "Where is my vote?" — clashed with riot police in Tehran on Sunday at a rally that was planned to coincide with a memorial held each year for Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti. He became a martyr in the Islamic Republic after he was killed in a major anti-regime bombing in 1981. - Witnesses said riot police used tear gas and clubs to break up a crowd of up to 3,000 protesters who had gathered near north Tehran's Ghoba Mosque in the country's first major post-election unrest in four days. - Some described scenes of brutality, telling The Associated Press that some protesters suffered broken bones and alleging that police beat an elderly woman, prompting a screaming match with young demonstrators who then fought back. - The reports could not be independently verified because of tight restrictions imposed on journalists in Iran.
Britain called on Iranian authorities to immediately release a group of local employees of the Briti...
