Protesters storm British embassy in Iran

[Outlaw]

Just saw this on tv:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45474465...east_n_africa/

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian protesters stormed two British Embassy compounds in Tehran on Tuesday, smashing windows and burning the British flag during a rally to protest against sanctions imposed by Britain, live Iranian television showed.

Several dozen protesters broke away from a crowd of a few hundred protesters outside the main embassy compound, scaled the embassy gates and went inside. Iranian security forces appeared to do little to stop them.

The demonstrators threw molotov cocktails and one waved a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth apparently found inside the main compound, the state TV showed.

An NBC News cameraman at the scene reported that the protesters tore down the British flag and replaced it with the Iranian flag.

The Associated Press reported that the protesters, numbering in the dozens, were hardline students and that they clashed with riot police.

They chanted, "The Embassy of Britain should be taken over" and "Death to England."

Less than two hours later, police appeared to regain control of the site. But the official IRNA news agency said about 300 protesters entered the British ambassador's residence in another part of the city and replaced British flags with Iranian ones.

Without specifying which compound it was referring to, the semi-official Mehr news agency said embassy employees fled. "They left the building a few minutes ago through the back door," the report said.

The British Foreign Office confirmed the "incursion" by demonstrators and vandalism to embassy property in a statement, and said it was "outraged."

"Under international law, including the Vienna Convention," the Iranian government has "a clear duty to protect diplomats and Embassies in their country and we expect them to act urgently to bring the situation under control and ensure the safety of our staff and security of our property," the statement said.

The Foreign Office said it was in contact with embassy officials. Officials were still checking on the well-being of workers and diplomats, a spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with standing policy.

It later issued a statement calling on Iranian authorities "to act with utmost urgency to ensure the situation is brought under control and to protect our diplomatic compound, as they are obliged to do under international law."

It advised British nationals in Iran to "stay indoors, keep a low profile and await further advice."

Not surprising in a way sense England recently cut all financial ties with Iran but still.

[Mazmaz]

No doubt it's Khamenei's supporters and Basiji's. It's not a group of normal people.

[Rhinox]

Stupid question.


Don't you need alcohol to make a Molotov?

[Rhinox]

Never mind just looked it up.

[Ragnus]

Can the "western world" just pull out of the middle east already? The whole place is a giant catch 22.

[Athas]

Death to England is a bit catchier then death to America.

[Correction]

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this breakaway group of 'protesters' were lead by plainclothes Iranian cops.

[BadKarma]

Religion of peace

[Kuya]

Religion of peace

I know right? I remember when the protestors wanted to demostrate that islam is peaceful. That is why they stormed the embassy, right?

[Xno Kappa]

Needs more Mohammed cartoons to peacefully protest.

[Kaylia]

Death to England is a bit catchier then death to America.

It does sound more sophisticate.

[archibaldcrane]

Needs more Mohammed cartoons to peacefully protest.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/...28c8a51706.jpgproblem?

[Eurell]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15966628

The UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London.

Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The sanctions led to Iran's parliament reducing diplomatic ties with the UK.

Mr Hague said he was demanding the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London, with all its staff to leave the UK within 48 hours.

"If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here," Mr Hague told MPs.

He said there had been "some degree of regime consent" in the attacks on the embassy and on another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran.

He said all UK diplomatic staff in Tehran had been evacuated and the embassy closed.

Mr Hague said relations between the UK and Iran were now at their lowest level, but the UK was not severing relations with Tehran entirely.


Mr Hague said the majority of those taking part had been members of a regime-backed Basij militia group.

He said the private quarters of staff and the ambassador had been ransacked, the main embassy office set on fire and personal possessions belonging to UK diplomats stolen.

The US, EU and UN Security Council also condemned the attacks.
Turbulent history

Relations between the UK and the Islamic Republic of Iran have been fraught since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Wednesday's move brings bilateral relations to their lowest level since 1989 when ties were broken over Iran's declaration of a "fatwa" (edict) to kill the author Salman Rushdie.

Analysts have compared Tuesday's scenes in Tehran to the 1979 storming of the US embassy there. That ended with more than 50 US diplomats and staff being held hostage for more than 400 days.

The US and Iran have had no diplomatic ties since then - the Swiss embassy in Tehran serves as the protecting power for US interests in the country.

Last week the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against Iran, including measures to restrict the activities of the Iranian central bank.

The UK said then it was severing all financial ties with Iran.

The move followed a report by the UN's nuclear watchdog (IAEA) that said Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear device".

Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, Iran's parliament voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK in response to the recent action.

[Ragnus]

Well, their first problem was trusting Iran...

[Odon]

Round three, fight.

[Leva]

inb4 ww3

[Demosthenes11]

I have good news guys. Michelle Bachmann said that if she were president, she would pull the US embassy out of Iran immediately.

[Brill Weave]

In all honesty what did they expect by having an embassy in Iran to begin with? Bound to happen sooner or later.

[Kuya]

Why is Britain going out of its way to impose sanctions on Iran independently and in spite of the fact that the EU is already agreeing to impose sanctions on Iran because of the recent IAEA report? I don't understand why England is taking independent action when it could do so collectively and avoid drawing specific attention to itself.

And at first i was going to ask why Iranians (with government support i suspect) would go apeshit over the British sanctions, but i suppose looking back at the history of Iran and England with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, and the fact that this looks like what happened in the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, then i sort of understand where they might be coming from. I suppose i'm just not used to seeing Iranians hate to death anything other than the US.

[Leva]

Because we hate Islam and want to troll them into killing people so we can justify forcing "democracy" on them.