UK Embassy Staff In Iran Freed

Five out of nine detained local staff at the British embassy in Tehran have reportedly been released.

Iranian media said on Sunday that several were being held for their alleged involvement in mass street protests.

Iran was rocked by huge rallies, that led to several deaths, over a disputed presidential election on June 12.

Tehran has accused the West of stoking unrest, singling out Britain and the United States.

But state television said Iran's foreign ministry today announced five staff members had been freed.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki had spoken on Sunday evening, ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said.

"Out of nine people, five of them have been released and the rest are being interrogated," Mr Qashqavi told a news conference.

He said Mr Miliband had stressed in his conversation with Mr Mottaki that Britain's intention was not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

"Mottaki said that if they really prove this in practice... this can be considered as a positive step," Mr Qashqavi said.

On Sunday, Mr Miliband demanded the release of all the staff held.

He said his European Union colleagues had agreed to a "strong, collective response" to any such "harassment and intimidation" against EU missions.

But videotape evidence proved that the embassy staff "were distinctly present at the scene of clashes," a senior Iranian official said.

Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseini Ejehi said the detainees - all Iranian nationals - mingled with demonstrators to encourage unrest.

Iran's judiciary, which is tightly controlled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will decide what happens next, he went on.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide election victory sparked the unrest after opposition parties' claims that the vote had been rigged.

A partial recount of the poll has begun, al Alam state television reported.

Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, had offered to recount a random 10% of the votes.

But defeated opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi has rejected this, saying the whole election should be annulled.

Iran Opposition Delays Rally After Crackdown

A Thursday ceremony to mourn the victims of Iran's post-election protests has been postponed for a week, an opposition party Web site said.

The statement was posted Wednesday evening on the Web site of presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's party -- some hours after security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons crushed a planned demonstration at a square in the capital, Tehran.

Iranian Diplomats Expelled From UK

The UK has expelled two Iranian diplomats after Iran forced two British envoys to leave.

Gordon Brown told MPs: "Iran yesterday took the unjustified step of expelling two British diplomats over allegations which are absolutely without foundation.

"In response to that action, we informed the Iranian ambassador today that we would expel two Iranian diplomats from their embassy in London.

Iran: Police Sent To Protest On Streets Of Tehran

Hundreds of police officers have been deployed at the site of a planned election protest rally in Iran, despite claims the demonstration had been cancelled.

Uncertainty surrounds whether the rally in downtown Tehran will go ahead.

The political party of defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karoubi called off the action.

Mousavi Urges Mass Iran Rally

Iran's opposition leader has reportedly called for a mass rally on Thursday in a direct challenge to the nation's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi is apparently urging his supporters to keep protesting over a disputed election and the alleged deaths of demonstrators.

Iran Tensions Mount Like Vote Recount

Iran's supreme leader has ordered a partial recount of presidential election votes if required as thousands of protesters rallied for another day in Tehran.

In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the biggest street demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the election supervisory body to probe the vote-rigging claims.

"I am asking the Guardians Council and the interior ministry to examine the said issues so there is no doubt left," he said, state television reported.

"If the examination of the problems require recounting of some ballot boxes, it should be definitely done in the presence of the representatives of candiates so that everybody is assured."

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner after Friday's vote.

His opponent Mirhossein Mousavi then called for an annulment, claiming irregularities in the count.

But the powerful council rejected the plea, sparking political turmoil.

Mr Mousavi's supporters are outraged at what they see as a victory that has been stolen from them by fraud.

Some have used the internet messaging service Twitter to express their frustration, and Sky News Online has been following their updates to find out about the changing situation on the ground.

When asked by Sky News' US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua whether the White House was also monitoring Twitter for information, press secretary Robert Gibbs said he would check - both with the White House and the National Security Council.

Supporters of Mr Mousavi said they planned to rally on Tuesday despite the deaths of seven people a day earlier on the fringes of a huge march through the streets of the capital, Tehran.

Video images have since been released of a man, believed to be a member of a pro-government militia, firing a machine gun from the window of a compound as crowds surround the building.

Dramatic footage showing Iran shooting


Corroboration of the claims has been prevented by an official ban on foreign media from covering such events.

Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall, in Tehran, said: "Most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, but it is clear there are some among them ready to make a fight of it.

"The crisis in this country is not just about the election. Behind the anger of the alleged vote theft lies something much deeper - frustration at living in a theocracy."

Iranian state television said on Tuesday the "main agents" in the post-election unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns.

Further protests would be a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on political dissent since the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Shah after months of demonstrations.

Despite protests and upheaval in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad has gone to Russia for talks on his first foreign trip since official results showed he secured a second four-year term.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia and China, congratulated him on his win.

US President Barack Obama said the protests reflected the fact that many people in Iran were unhappy with their government's "antagonistic postures" towards other countries.

"There are people who want to see greater openness, greater debate, greater democracy," he said.

"I stand strongly with the universal principle that people's voices should be heard."

Iran Pprotest 'Leaves Seven People Dead'

Seven people have been killed in violence after a protest against the result of the Iran election, according to reports.

The clashes happened after hundreds of thousands of supporters of the defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi held a rally in the capital Tehran.

State-run Radio Payam announced: "Several thugs wanted to attack a military post and vandalise public property in the vicinity of Azadi Square.

"Unfortunately seven people were killed and several others wounded in the incident."

More protests are planned for today, following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in an election the Mousavi supporters claim was rigged.

Speaking for the first time about the violence, Barack Obama expressed his concern.

He said: "I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television.

"The democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent - all those are universal values and need to be respected."

Mr Obama pledged to continue pursuing tough, direct dialogue with Iran despite differences with Mr Ahmadinejad.

He stressed that the US respected Iran's sovereignty and could not judge how the election was run because neither American nor international observers were present.

"The Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place," he said.

"It's important that moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views."

In a message to the protesters, Mr Obama said: "To those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was."

Despite the unrest in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad travelled to Russia for a regional summit, although he had delayed his visit by a day because of the protests.

Mr Mousavi and another defeated candidate, Mohsen Rezai, are due to meet Iran's Guardian Council later after they filed official complaints against the election result.


The 12-member legislative body, which oversees elections, has 10 days to either endorse or reject the outcome of the vote.