IRAN TRIAL: For UK embassy staff in Tehran

A top Iranian cleric Ayatollah Jannati said Friday some of the arrested employees from the British Embassy in Tehran would be put on trial, Iranian Students News Agency reported.

Nine embassy staff were held in Tehran last weekend. Britain says all but two have now been freed. EU governments are to summon Iranian ambassadors to protest against the detention of the embassy staff. An EU official told the BBC that, in addition, visas for Iranians holding Iranian diplomatic passports would be suspended.

The officials said other measures, including the withdrawal of EU ambassadors from Iran, would be considered if the remaining two British embassy staff were not released.

The employees have been accused of helping to incite some of the post-election protests that swept through the country.

Ayatollah Jannati at Friday prayers saying, “The British foreign office had said last March that there may be riots during the elections in Iran and they said that they should warn their citizens to be careful.

“What do these predictions mean? And then some people in the UK embassy, who had a hand in the disturbances, were arrested and will surely be put on trial.”

Iran’s intelligence minister has blamed Western powers for stirring up protests over its disputed presidential election, singling out Britain and saying the British Embassy in Tehran “played a heavy role in the recent disturbances.”

Ayatollah Jannati did not say how many employees would be tried or on what charges.

“In these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested,” he told the thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers, according to news agencies.

Ayatollah Jannati said on Friday: “After the election, the enemy could not stand people’s joy. The enemy made an effort to poison the people. They had planned a velvet revolution before the election.”

He said the UK Foreign Office had warned of possible “street riots” around the 12 June election and had advised its nationals to avoid public places.