MOSCOW, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - The U.K. foreign secretary voiced concern on Sunday over the arrests of several Iranian employees at the British Embassy in Tehran, accused of involvement in recent post-election riots.
Iranian media earlier reported that eight people working at the embassy had been arrested.
David Miliband told reporters: "This is harassment and intimidation of a kind that is quite unacceptable. We want to see [them] released unharmed."
He also said it remains unclear how many people have been arrested.
"The numbers are changing hour by hour. These are hard-working diplomatic staff, and the idea that the British Embassy is somehow behind the demonstrations and protests that have been taking place in Tehran in recent weeks is wholly without foundation."
Iran's state English-language Press TV earlier cited "security officials" as saying the embassy employees had been arrested for "inflaming post-election tensions in the country."
The semi-official Fars agency cited an unnamed source as saying the employees "had a considerable role in recent unrest" and "were taken into custody."
The arrests are likely to further damage relations between Iran and the United Kingdom, which have been strained by expulsions of diplomats and Iranian authorities' allegations that British government aided protests after the controversial June 12 presidential election.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide re-election sparked mass demonstrations amid allegations of ballot fraud from the two main challengers, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
At least 13 people were killed during the riots according to Iranian media, and over 450 arrested in the largest challenge to the Islamic Revolution since the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah.
Despite the protests, Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees elections, rejected the opposition's calls to annul the results of the vote.
