U.K.'s Tehran Staff To Be Tried: Cleric

Iran Accuses British Embassy Employees of Instigating Protests Against Election Results

(AP)  A top Iranian cleric said Friday that some of the detained Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial, and he accused Britain of a role in instigating widespread protests that erupted over the country's disputed presidential election.

The announcement by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati came a day after the European Union demanded Iran release the staffers, who were detained on June 27. Britain is pressing EU countries to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran in protest.

Jannati, a powerful hard-liner who is close to Iran's supreme leader, told worshippers during a Friday prayer sermon in Tehran that the detained staffers "made confessions."

"In these events, their embassy had a presence," he said, referring to the post-election turmoil. "Some people were arrested. Well, inevitably, they will be put on trial."

He did not say how many staffers will be tried or on what charges. Earlier Iranian officials said all but one of the eight embassy personnel arrested on June 27 had been released, but European Union officials said they believed more than one was still being held.

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said of Jannati's comments that British officials are "very concerned about these reports and are investigating."

In Sweden, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said "it's not acceptable to file charges against the ones released or the ones still in custody," though he added that the report had not yet been confirmed.

Jannati does not hold a position in the government or judiciary, but is the head of the Guardian Council, a powerful body in Iran's ruling clerical hierarchy that stands above the elected government. He is also close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Jannati told the thousands of worshippers that the British "had designed a velvet revolution ... In March, they said (in their Foreign Ministry) that street riots were possible during June elections. These are signs ... revealed by themselves."

He also said those involved in protests "need to repent and ask God to forgive them."

Protests erupted in Tehran and other cities after official results showed a landslide victory for incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election over his pro-reform rival Mir Hossein Mousavi. The pro-reform camp said the results were fraudulent.

The protests were quashed in a tough crackdown, and Iran's police chief has said 20 "rioters" were killed during the unrest. During his sermon, Jannati said seven or eight members of the paramilitary Basij militia were also killed. Basijis took a leading role in putting down the protests, often clashing with demonstrators.

Iran's ruling clerics have called the elections "pure" and "healthy" following Khamenei's declaration that the results would stand.

Still, Mousavi appears driven to maintain his opposition and even to raise the stakes - though there have been no protests since Sunday. In a challenging statement on Wednesday, he said he considered the government illegitimate and demanded political prisoners be released.

Jannati took a tough line, indirectly accusing Mousavi of treason.

Though he did not name Mousavi directly, Jannati pointed out that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, once said that "anyone disrupts unity has not only committed a sin but also has committed treason against the Islamic Republic and the system."

Jannati demanded that those involved in the protests "repent and ask God to forgive them."

[johninpennsyl]

Before the U.S. entry into WW2 the British had agent-provocateurs in this country instigating our entry into the conflict.
The British have a history of that type of thing -so the turban guy could very well be on the level.
I say old boy,the English are great tricksters,but sometimes you get caught.

[hamiltongrad]

what is wrong with supporting goodness over evil ?
We need more backbone. Less Carter like and more Reagan.

[Benton09]

Conclusion: Leaders with 'Snake Charmer Headwear' DO NOT make good leaders.

[billpl-2009]

just how stupid does he think Iranians are?

[slakhamr]

I don't care what happens in the rest of the world..For 23yrs I was sent around the world to so called hot spots,while others ran off to Canada..If people don't like the way their country is being run,then let them change it..I happen to believe that not one other country is worth the life of one young american...

[MrBluEyez]

Gee isn't this a bunch of BS? last week they were condemming the US for the same thing.. Seems to me that they want to blame all their woes on someone else.. not too unlike the reps & Dems here. Maybe aba whatsisname should step down in response to the iranian preference.. OR better yet simply hold a NEW election.. with neutral counting the votes, the Iranians will lie to their preference, just like they will destroy their own to make their point.. just another form of corruption.. remember the saying: Power corrupts, Absolute Power corrupts ABSOLUTELY

[steeepe]

Religion is the bane of enlightenment. Not spirituality, but organized religion. Whether you are a faith-crazed creationist in the U.S. or an Old Testament or anti-modern cleric in the Mideast, it makes no difference. When people give up their superstitions and embrace rationality, humans will advance. Otherwise, it's back to the stone age....

[curiously1]

They did this some 30 years ago and they got away with it. As another poster wrote, the thugs in Iran just love to bother embassy workers!
I think Britain's request that Europeans should withdraw their embassies from Iran is absolutely the way to go. This way, you prove to them that they are only a bunch of thugs and not a ligitimate government.

[bajajohn1]

Let see heah; we got North Korea trying to shoot its firecrackers for July 4th, Honduran right-wingers take over the government from a guy who wants to help the poor, Iran wants to try and presumably imprison British embassy staff--guilty until proven innocent--after Islamic clerics fixed the election and in the U.S., state governments are failing due to political impasse and well, just being in debt up to their eyeballs. In Cuba, Raul Castro revs up its military in preparation for a U.S. attack...according to the news and in Mexico, the drug war goes on...Well, seems the world is normal this morning and nothing I write, by golly, is going to change it.

[rhs648]

Your last line is hilarious. It made my day.

[omded]

These so called "Ayatollahs" are all major jokes. It's no wonder Iranians don't believe them any more. Their only hope now is to kill all the educated people, close the universities, and take close control over the elementary schools to ensure that their snake oil is thoroughly engrained into all the childrens' heads. It looks like they're doing some of those things right now. REVOLT PEOPLE!!! KICK THIS JERK'S GRAY BEARD ALL THE WAY INTO THE NEAREST LATRINE WITH ALL THE OTHER FILTH AND WASTE!!!

[KierraSinclaire]

Just another sign that bolsters a growing trend that believe that religion, in this case Islam, is a mental disorder!

[ToolMangler1]

Jannati demanded that those involved in the protests "repent and ask God to forgive them."


Why should I repent, GOD told me to protest!!!!! I am supposed to protest Crimes against GOD and Man. He told me to protest religious criminals (Clerics that pervert his word.) So tell me "Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati" "What makes your claim to having heard GOD speak any more valid than mine???????" You caqn'trove it, so I am not listening to you, (you don't have to listen to me either) If you try to put me in prison are kill me for having heard GOD, then you had better sit down beside me in the same cell.. P.S. Trying to 'kill' me will cost you greatly!!!!