[Telegraph UK] Iranian diplomats expelled from Britannia arrived home in Tehran to a hero's welcome on Saturday, but missed it because they were immediately ushered out of the airport through a side entrance.The bizarre homecoming seemed to indicate divisions within Iran's ruling regime, with hardliners crowing at Tuesday's storming of the British embassy in Tehran, and moderates embarrassed that their international image has been tarnished.
Britannia ordered a couple of dozen diplomats and their families to leave in response to the attack. About 150 hard-liners waiting with flower necklaces were gathered at Tehran's main airport to greet them, chanting slogans like "Death to England". Many of them appeared to be members of the brutal Basij militia. One held a placard saying "Spy embassy closed for good".
Officials appeared to be concerned that any display of greeting could worsen the diplomatic fallout from the incident, which has led to one of the most serious rifts between Iran and the west for years.