2009-12-30

Simon Gass was hauled into the foreign ministry to hear the protest after David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, defended the protesters.

In London, the Foreign Office said Mr Gass had "robustly defended" Britain's stance on Iran's harsh response to mass demonstrations against the regime.

"He responded robustly to criticism of David Miliband's statement yesterday and reiterated the Foreign Secretary's comments that the Iranian government must respect the human rights of its own citizens," said a spokesman.

Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, claimed statements from the British Government were inciting demonstrations that swept the country's biggest cities on Sunday. He warned that Iran would strike back against the British and other western governments that were supporting the opposition movement launched in the wake of June's disputed presidential election.

"If Britain does not stop talking nonsense it will get a slap in the face," he said. "The lowly and downgrading remarks by some foreign officials show the black stain on their record in their contradictory interactions."

The outburst followed a statement from Mr Miliband on Monday condemning the official response to the biggest protests that Iran had seen since the downfall of the Shah in 1979.

"Ordinary Iranian citizens are determined to exercise their right to have their voices heard. They are showing great courage," Mr Miliband said as part of a co-ordinated condemnation of Iran's crackdown by western foreign ministers.

Iran viewed the intervention as meddling. Mr Miliband pressed the point that the state-sponsored attacks on demonstrators violated Iran's international human rights obligations. "I call on the Iranian government to respect the human rights of its own citizens, rights which Iran has promised to respect," he said.

Diplomats were looking into a report on a pro-government website that a Briton was among those arrested on Sunday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran's pro-democracy movement was the tool of foreign governments which were orchestrating a "nauseating masquerade".

But the brutality meted out on the streets of seven Iranian cities at the weekend appeared to have dealt a severe blow to the domestic foundations of the regime. Shia Muslims traditionally regard the Ashura festival, which fell on Monday, as the highpoint of the holy month of Muharram in which warring parties observe a truce. The day also marked the important seventh day of mourning for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.

The authorities tightened the net on the opposition on Tuesday. A prominent hardliner demanded that the leaders of the protest movement be put to death for offending God. Ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi branded opposition leaders as "enemies of God" whose punishment under Islamic (sharia) law is death.

Mehdi Karoubi, a prominent challenger in the June election, was in effect placed under house arrest by restricting his security detail to the boundaries of his home. Mr Karoubi had branded the use of violence by authorities as worse than in the Shah era.

Officials rejected claims they were holding hostage the body of Ali Mousavi, a 35-year-old nephew of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the leading challenger in the election.

The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said that the bodies of five protestors were being held by the coroner's office while investigations were being carried out. Critics said this was to prevent their funerals - another potential flashpoint and focus of demonstrations.

Opposition sources said that 10 people had been killed in the violence, while Ahmad-Reza Radan, the deputy head of the national police force, said seven were killed.

The opposition has condemned the leadership of the Islamic republic for betraying the religious principles set out at its foundation. "The government and its consistently violent response to protesters are pushing the country toward chaos and bloodshed," said Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesman for Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Criticism has shaken the regime and key figures have called for a wider round-up of its opponents. Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament, demanded strict punishment for defendants. He said: "Identify them, arrest them and firmly punish those who insulted religion."

Tens of thousands of pro-regime loyalists were on Tuesday mobilised to attend a counter-demonstration in which anti-Western slogans were chanted.

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