Eight local British embassy staff in Iran held: report

Reuters: Eight Iranian employees of the British embassy in Tehran have been detained on accusations of involvement in post-election unrest in the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Sunday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Eight Iranian employees of the British embassy in Tehran have been detained on accusations of involvement in post-election unrest in the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Sunday.

"Eight local employees at the British embassy who had a considerable role in recent unrest were taken into custody," Fars said, without giving a source. "This group played an active role in provoking recent unrest," Fars said.

Iran has accused Western powers — Britain and the United States in particular — of inciting street protests and violence that rocked the country after its disputed June 12 presidential election. Britain has rejected the accusations.

Last Tuesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain was expelling two Iranian diplomats after Iran forced two British diplomats to leave.

(Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; Writing by Fredrik Dahl)