Iranian students voice outrage over Britain’s hostile policies

TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (MNA) -- A number of Iranian students from various universities entered the British Embassy compound in Tehran on Tuesday and pulled down the Union Jack. The students, who had gathered to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Professor Majid Shahriari, held a demonstration to protest against the British government’s hostile policies toward Iran in front of the British Embassy. On November 29, 2010, Iranian physicist Majid Shahriari was killed in a bombing. The academic was on his way to work at Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran when he was attacked. One day after the Guardian Council approved a bill to downgrade ties with the British government ratified by the Iranian Majlis, the students called on the Iranian government to promptly implement the bill. The students’ peaceful demonstration changed tone when the police were not able to prevent students from storming the embassy. The students smashed windows and set the British flag and some of the embassy’s documents on fire. In the end, the police dispersed the students and arrested some of them. The British Embassy had not adopted appropriate security measures. The approval of the bill and the embassy incident were responses to London’s decision to ban all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, as part of a new wave of sanctions by Western countries. The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday night, expressing deep regret for what happened during the students’ demonstration. The Foreign Ministry also said the Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to international law and diplomatic protocols and will fulfill its obligations to protect diplomats and foreign countries’ embassies. The statement also asked relevant officials to launch an investigation of the incident.