Report: Iran detains 8 local British Embassy staff

EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

Iranian media reported Sunday that authorities have detained eight local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran for an alleged role in post-election protests, signaling a hardening of Iran’s stance toward the West.

In London, Britain’s Foreign Office said it is looking into the reports.

Iran has accused the West of stoking unrest following a bitterly disputed June 12 presidential election, singling out Britain and the U.S. for alleged meddling. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has alleged massive fraud, and claims he is the rightful winner.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday that eight local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran were detained. The eight were suspected of having played a “significant role” in the recent unrest, Fars said in a report also cited by Iran’s English-language, state-run Press TV.

The reports, which could not be confirmed independently, gave no further details.

A spokeswoman for Britain’s Foreign Office said the British government is looking into the Iranian reports. “We’re not able to say any more at this stage, because the situation is obviously quite sensitive,” the spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity.

Iran’s government has tried to discredit opposition supporters by alleging they have been directed by the West. Britain, as a former colonial power in the region, has been a prominent target. The British have also drawn fire because of the BBC’s prominent role as trusted broadcaster in Farsi inside Iran.

Last week, Iran expelled two British diplomats, and Britain responded in kind. Iran has also said it’s considering downgrading diplomatic ties with Britain.

On Friday, a senior Iranian cleric, Ahmed Khatami, lashed out at Britain in a nationally televised sermon. “In this unrest, Britons have behaved very mischievously and it is fair to add the slogan of ‘down with England’ to the slogan of ‘down with USA,’” he said.

The U.S. and Europe have become increasingly vocal about their condemnation of Iran’s harsh crackdown. Iran’s leaders have pushed back with angry rhetoric, and the confrontation appears to be dashing hopes for a new dialogue, as initially envisioned by President Barack Obama when he took office.

Iran’s rulers have unleashed club-wielding militiamen to crush street protests and arrested hundreds of journalists, students and activists. A special court is to try protesters, and Khatami demanded harsh sentences, including the death penalty, for those found guilty.

Despite the clampdown, Mousavi signaled he is not dropping his political challenge. In a new statement, he insisted on a repeat of the election and rejected a partial recount being proposed by the government. Still, Mousavi’s challenge seemed largely aimed at maintaining some role as an opposition figure.

The latest statement by Mousavi, who is increasingly isolated in the past week, appeared Sunday on Ghalamnews, a Web site run by supporters. Mousavi-related Web sites have frequently been blocked by the government, and one was shut down by hackers last week.

Iran’s top electoral body, the 12-member Guardian Council, has proposed recounting 10 percent of the votes. On Friday, the council offered to bring in six more political figures to oversee a partial recount, presumably to give the effort greater legitimacy in the eyes of the challengers.

However, Mousavi reiterated his demand for nullification as “the most suitable solution to restore public confidence.” He called for independent arbiters to settle the dispute.

Another defeated candidate, Mahdi Karroubi, also expressed doubt that a fair review is possible.

“How is it possible to answer controversies through counting some ballots?” he wrote in a letter to the Guardian Council, published Sunday in his newspaper, Etemad-e-Melli.

A third candidate, Mohsen Rezaei, said he would only send a representative to the council, for observation of a re-count, if the other two candidates did the same.

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Laub reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Cairo and Shawn Pogatchnik in London contributed to this report.