The U.K. continues to be public enemy #1 in Iran:
Iranian media reported Sunday that authorities had detained eight local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran for an alleged role in postelection protests, signaling a hardening of Iran's stance toward the West.
Miliband said some of the employees had been released following their detention, but that others continued to be held. He said "about nine" workers had initially been detention. It was not clear how many of those had been released.
A couple of points here. First, just to head off any 1979 comparisons, these are local staffers -- Iranian citizens employed by the British embassy. Iran hasn't arrested any British diplomats (probably because it's too busy expelling them).
Second, does anyone else see a note of desperation in this move? The Iranian regime appears desperate to pin the post-election protests on foreign powers. The arrests, Khamenei's angry speech earlier today, the wild conspiracy theories about CIA interference... the regime obviously realizes it lost a lot of legitimacy after the election. And the increasing hyperbole is a desperate effort to reclaim some of that legitimacy.
For updates throughout the day, follow us on 
Twitter, 
Facebook or 
RSS!
Categories: Diplomacy, Iranian Elections (2009), Politics
Tags: Iranian elections, United Kingdom
No Comments
Post a Comment