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Iran police arrest 12 over embassy rally

Iran Materials 3 December 2011 19:45 (UTC +04:00)

Iran's Police Chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam says 12 students were arrested during the recent protest rally in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Press TV reported.

"After students entered the British Embassy and Qolhak Garden, 12 [students] were arrested...they have been turned over to judicial authorities," Ahmadi-Moqaddam was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying on Saturday.

Hundreds of Iranian students staged a major protest rally outside the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, November 29, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British envoy.

The protesters also staged another protest rally outside a second compound, the Qolhak Garden, in north Tehran.

During the protests, some students managed to cross the protective police circle in both locations and entered the premises.

Ahmadi-Moqaddam added that police had guided all students who had entered the embassy during the protest outside and increased protective measures around the embassy afterwards.

He said Iranian police had been thanked by embassy officials for increasing their protective measures and because none of their staff were injured.

The student protests were held following the approval of a bill by Iran's Majlis (parliament) which aimed to downgrade ties with the UK and oblige the country's Foreign Ministry to expel the British ambassador, Dominick John Chilcott, within two weeks.

On Wednesday, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Iranian Embassy in London would be immediately closed and its diplomatic mission would be expelled from Britain.

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