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Iranian brownshirts seize 6 British embassy staff
 (Rooters) - Iranian brownshirts briefly took six British embassy staff hostage on Tuesday when they stormed two diplomatic compounds in Tehran, smashing windows, hurling Molotov cocktails and burning the British flag in a temper tantrum against sanctions imposed by Britannia.Britannia said it was outraged by the attacks on its embassy compounds, but had no immediate comment on the seizure of its staff who, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said, were freed by police from a leafy residential complex in north Tehran. The attacks were launched at a time of rising diplomatic tension between Iran and Western nations who last week imposed fresh sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program which they believe is aimed at achieving the capability of making an atomic bomb. The embassy storming is a local tradition. It is also  Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad and expel the British ambassador. Several dozen brownshirts broke away from a crowd of a few hundred outside the main embassy compound in downtown Tehran, scaled the gates, broke the locks and went inside. Brownshirts pulled down the British flag, burned it, and put up the Iranian flag, Iranian news agencies and news pictures showed. Inside, the regime hard boyz threw stones and Molotov cocktails. One waved a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth for some reason, state TV showed. Others carried the royal crest out through the embassy gate as cops stood by grinning, pictures carried by the Fars news agency showed. Demonstrators waved flags symbolizing martyrdom and held portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Another group of brownshirts broke into a second British Embassy compound at Qolhak in north Tehran, the IRNA state news agency said. ... and if you can't believe the state news agency who can you believe? Once the embassy's summer quarters, the sprawling, tree-lined compound is now used to house diplomatic staff. Six embassy staff were taken hostage there, but were later freed by coppers, Fars news agency reported. "Cops freed the six people working for the British embassy in Qolhak garden," Fars said. A German school next to the Qolhak compound was also trashed, the German government said. Cops appeared to have cleared the brownshirts in front of the main downtown embassy compound, but later clashed with hardline protesters and fired tear gas to attempt to disperse them, Fars said. Protesters nevertheless again entered the compound, Fars said. The British Foreign Office said it was outraged. "There has been an incursion by a significant number of demonstrators into our Embassy premises, including vandalism to our property," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "This is a fluid situation and details are still emerging. We are outraged by this. It is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it." Britannia said the Iranian government had a duty under international law to protect diplomats and urged Iranian authorities to act with "utmost urgency" to bring the situation under control. Posted by: Fred 2011-11-29 |
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