British Embassy in Iran Shuts After Shots Fired
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Unknown assailants fired shots at the British embassy in Tehran on Wednesday and Britain temporarily closed the building for business, British officials said.
Bullets hit windows in upper stories of the building which stand near the perimeter wall next to a busy Tehran street, officials said. No one was injured.
The incident occurred at a time of rising tension between Iran and Britain over Britain's arrest of a former Iranian diplomat in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina.
Iran's ambassador to London returned to Tehran for consultations following the row over the arrest of diplomat Hadi Soleimanpour in connection with the Buenos Aires bombing which killed 85 people, Iranian and British officials said on Wednesday.
Staff at the British embassy in Tehran said up to six shots were fired but they said it was not clear who fired them.
"Just before midday (0730 GMT), five shots were fired from the street at the British embassy in Tehran," a Foreign Office spokesman in London said, adding that the bullets hit offices in the first and second floors of the building.
"Nobody was injured in this incident. The embassy has been temporarily closed for business," the spokesman said.
A Reuters witness said one pierced window in the embassy building was visible from the street. A British embassy official said toughened glass stopped any shots entering the offices.
Some embassy staff were sent home, while others moved to offices away from the street.
On the diplomatic front, Britain said it understood the recall of Iran's London envoy, Morteza Sarmadi, did not mean a downgrading in relations.
Soleimanpour, who was Iran's ambassador to Argentina at the time of the 1994 bombing and who is in custody at Argentina's request, has protested his innocence.
Iran says his detention is politically motivated and has promised "strong action," warning Britain that the issue would harm bilateral ties.
Iran is also facing growing international pressure over its nuclear program. The United States accuses it of secretly developing a nuclear weapons program -- a charge Tehran denies -- and wants the issue referred to the U.N. Security Council.
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This map shows where shooting happened.