Iran Arrests British Embassy Staff, Opposition Rejects Recount
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By Ladane Nasseri and Henry Meyer
June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Iran arrested eight local staff of the U.K. Embassy for allegedly playing a role in post-election protests, the state-run Fars news agency said, as the opposition rejected an offer for a partial recount of the June 12 voting.
The detention of the Embassy employees, reported by Fars, came as the European Union said Iran’s treatment of protesters against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed presidential re-election would determine whether major world powers will re- enter talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s leadership has accused the U.S., the U.K. and Israel of instigating the violence that followed Ahmadinejad’s officially declared victory in the election. Last week, it expelled the correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corp.
The U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement today that it has “in the last few days received a number of sometimes confused reports that British nationals or others with British connections have been detained. We continue to raise them with the Iranian authorities.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi was not immediately available for comment.
European governments are keen to renew negotiations “soon,” offering Iran help with its civilian energy program as long as the country gives up any nuclear weapons ambitions, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said today in Corfu, Greece.
Mehdi Karrubi, one of the defeated presidential candidates, demanded an independent panel to probe irregularities in the election, in a letter to the top election body, the Guardian Council, published today in the Etemade Meli newspaper.
Election Demand
Ahmadinejad’s main challenger on the ballot, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, like Karrubi has demanded the election result be scrapped due to vote-rigging. He said yesterday he doesn’t support the recount proposed by the Guardian Council and would like to see a review of the election by an independent arbitration committee.
Iranian authorities have succeeded in largely quelling the protests after using force to keep people off the streets and arresting hundreds of activists. Protesters who defied a ban on opposition rallies since the election have been met with water cannons, tear gas and clubs as security forces dispersed crowds. The government said 13 protesters and eight militiamen died.
Western governments will “see how the situation gets stabilized,” Solana said. New talks are possible “if they are ready and we are ready in view of the outcome.”
Nuclear Program
Ahmadinejad vowed to take a tougher approach toward the West during his second term yesterday, saying the U.S. administration’s criticism of his crackdown on dissent after the election shows its offer of talks on Iran’s nuclear program isn’t genuine.
“If they think the government will be influenced, they’re wrong,” Ahmadinejad told judiciary officials at a conference yesterday in Tehran, in comments aired on state television. “The government will have a more powerful and decisive approach in the new term.” He called Western leaders “the arrogants.”
U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Iran two days ago to halt the violence against protesters who say the election was rigged. They also said Iran must be blocked from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at [email protected]; Henry Meyer in Dubai at [email protected]
Last Updated: June 28, 2009 05:37 EDT
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Ladane Nasseri and Henry Meyer
June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Iran arrested eight local staff of the U.K. Embassy for allegedly playing a role in post-election protests, the state-run Fars news agency said, as the opposition rejected an offer for a partial recount of the June 12 voting.
The detention of the Embassy employees, reported by Fars, came as the European Union said Iran’s treatment of protesters against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed presidential re-election would determine whether major world powers will re- enter talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s leadership has accused the U.S., the U.K. and Israel of instigating the violence that followed Ahmadinejad’s officially declared victory in the election. Last week, it expelled the correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corp.
The U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement today that it has “in the last few days received a number of sometimes confused reports that British nationals or others with British connections have been detained. We continue to raise them with the Iranian authorities.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi was not immediately available for comment.
European governments are keen to renew negotiations “soon,” offering Iran help with its civilian energy program as long as the country gives up any nuclear weapons ambitions, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said today in Corfu, Greece.
Mehdi Karrubi, one of the defeated presidential candidates, demanded an independent panel to probe irregularities in the election, in a letter to the top election body, the Guardian Council, published today in the Etemade Meli newspaper.
Election Demand
Ahmadinejad’s main challenger on the ballot, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, like Karrubi has demanded the election result be scrapped due to vote-rigging. He said yesterday he doesn’t support the recount proposed by the Guardian Council and would like to see a review of the election by an independent arbitration committee.
Iranian authorities have succeeded in largely quelling the protests after using force to keep people off the streets and arresting hundreds of activists. Protesters who defied a ban on opposition rallies since the election have been met with water cannons, tear gas and clubs as security forces dispersed crowds. The government said 13 protesters and eight militiamen died.
Western governments will “see how the situation gets stabilized,” Solana said. New talks are possible “if they are ready and we are ready in view of the outcome.”
Nuclear Program
Ahmadinejad vowed to take a tougher approach toward the West during his second term yesterday, saying the U.S. administration’s criticism of his crackdown on dissent after the election shows its offer of talks on Iran’s nuclear program isn’t genuine.
“If they think the government will be influenced, they’re wrong,” Ahmadinejad told judiciary officials at a conference yesterday in Tehran, in comments aired on state television. “The government will have a more powerful and decisive approach in the new term.” He called Western leaders “the arrogants.”
U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Iran two days ago to halt the violence against protesters who say the election was rigged. They also said Iran must be blocked from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at [email protected]; Henry Meyer in Dubai at [email protected]
Last Updated: June 28, 2009 05:37 EDT
