Iran’s paramilitary vigilante women protest outside British embassy

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Oct. 03 – More than 100 female members of Iran’s Bassij force demonstrated on Monday morning outside the British embassy in Tehran, in protest to London’s stance on Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Oct. 03 – More than 100 female members of Iran’s Bassij force demonstrated on Monday morning outside the British embassy in Tehran, in protest to London’s stance on Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Bassij are para-military Islamist vigilantes under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Nafisseh Fayazbaksh, a member of parliament and a close ally of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made a fiery speech that was greeted with chants of “Shut down this den of spies”.

There were also banners reading, “To achieve Iran’s legitimate right of having nuclear technology we are willing to sacrifice our lives”, “Death to England”, “Death to America”, and “America cannot do a damn thing”.

The British embassy and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Tehran, Richard Dalton, have been targeted by Iran’s radical clerics as the focus of anti-Western pressure on Iran which is continuing to defy the international community on its nuclear program.

On Wednesday, hundreds of members of the Bassij force staged a violent demonstration outside the British embassy. The demonstrators attacked the embassy compound with petrol bombs and stones and pelted eggs and tomatoes at the building. Several embassy windows were shattered.

British and American flags were set on fire during the demonstration. A car tyre was also set alight and hurled towards the main gate of the embassy.