Posted on 06/28/2009 6:41:08 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Britain today condemned the arrest of nine employees of the British embassy in Tehran and demanded their immediate release.
An Iranian news agency reported this morning that the Iranian workers had been detained for involvement in the post-election unrest in the Islamic Republic.
The arrests follow a week of escalating rhetoric against Britain, which was accused by the Iranian foreign minister of flying in jet-loads of spies to disrupt Iran's presidential elections on July 12.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, denied that the mission had been involved in any post-election unrest and called for the release of the embassy staff.
“This is harassment and intimidation of a kind that is quite unacceptable,” Mr Miliband told reporters during a security conference on the Greek island of Corfu.
“We want to see (them) released unharmed.”
News of the arrests emerged from Fars, a semi-official news agency, which said: “Eight local employees at the British embassy who had a considerable role in recent unrest were taken into custody.” It did not say when the arrests occurred.
The Foreign Office said that the Tehran embassy has a staff of more than 100, including at least 70 locally hired Iranians.
Mr Miliband said that about nine employees had been detained in total, but some had been released.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
yeah good luck with that
Gordon is going to send a firm letter.
This is not going to work out well for anyone... long term, it could work out for the west if we bitch slap them [or the Brits do.] But if it lingers like last time, long term will take a nosedive for the west.
jmho
And O? He’s silent on the matter.
When they start beheading the hostages he’ll reissue and invite for a BBQ
They’ll release them...in 444 days.
*************************EXCERPT******************************
The news of the embassy arrests came as the EU's foreign policy chief said the bloc was eager to restart talks with Iran on the country's nuclear programme, despite its crackdown on protesters following presidential elections.
Besides, the *LABOUR* party? We're not talking The Iron Lady here.
Cheers!
He’s busy making sure we aren’t a foil.
Lingers like last time? Surely, you are not referring to the US hostage crisis. There is a major difference in this case. These are IRANIAN CITIZENS who are being held, not UK diplomats.
See #7.
Shall we have a jolly cup of tea?
A deadline is helpful.
“Don’t make me come down there...” as the ancestors used to say.
“UK fury as staff arrested in Iran.”
####
“Fury”, huh?
They can call it whatever they want, but in the UK of today, this is undoubtedly not even a pale shadow of Churchillian or Thatcheresque fury.
I thought “Fury” was the name of a horse.
Then again, I watched too much TV when I was a kid.
Ricks boys, trapped AGAIN in some subterreanean cave with, of course, the water rising: “Flipper, go tell dad we're trapped at 36.45 degrees latitude, and 45.89 degrees west longitude. Oh and pick me up a couple of cheesburgers, onion, mustard and lettuce, hold the pickle, on your way back.
They’ll be released after the point is made and the money paid...again.
Honestly, the mad mullahs must be easily amused; anyone else would be getting bored with picking on such an easy target all the time.
Ping.
Do we hae another hostage situation in the making?
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