Baku, Azerbaijan, March 10
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Government Spokesperson Mohammadbaqer Nowbakht has condemned a move by four individuals who climbed onto a first-floor balcony of the Iranian embassy in London on Friday and waved flags in an apparent protest against the government in Tehran.
“This move is condemned and our colleagues at Foreign Ministry will follow up on the issue through diplomatic tools,” he told reporters on Monday.
He further accused the British police of failing to properly fulfill its duty of protecting the building of the embassy under international regulations.
Following the incident, a spokeswoman for London’s Metropolitan Police said that four were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and being unlawfully on diplomatic premises.
No one was hurt during the incident and the four were arrested when they came down voluntarily after around three hours, Reuters reported.
Iran’s ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidnejad, tweeted that the assailants were “advocates of the Shirazi cult” and had replaced Iran’s national flag with that of their group. He said all staff at the embassy were safe.
Ayatollah Sadegh Hossein Shirazi, whose son was recently arrested for insulting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been a fierce critic of Iran’s clerical leadership.
In the meantime, Iranian local media reported that Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has protested about the incident to the British ambassador in Tehran.