Iranian cleric says UK embassy staff face trial

ENVOYS SUMMONED

A European Union official in Brussels said members of the 27-member bloc summoned Iranian ambassadors to protest against the detention of the British embassy's Iranian staff.

He said EU states agreed a gradual approach towards Tehran that could in future include visa bans and withdrawal of ambassadors from Iran, depending on how the situation evolved.

"The first immediate action is to convey a strong message of protest against the detention of British embassy local staff and to demand their immediate release," the official said.

Further steps would also be determined by the outcome of the meeting of the Group of Eight major industrialised powers in Italy next week, he said.

Iran said earlier this week that nine Iranian staff at the British embassy were detained for involvement in the mass street protests that erupted after the election.

Most have been released, but British officials say two embassy employees remain in detention. Jannati did not say how many of the staff could face trial.

Britain has denied Iranian accusations that embassy staff were involved in instigating opposition protests after the vote, which defeated presidential candidate Mousavi says was rigged in the incumbent's favour.

Britain and Iran have already expelled two of each other's diplomats since the election, which stirred Iran's most striking display of internal dissent since the 1979 Islamic revolution and strained ties with the West.

In London, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "We have noted the remarks by Ayatollah Jannati suggesting that some of our local staff in Iran may face trial. We are urgently seeking clarification from the appropriate Iranian authorities."