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Iran frees five U.K. staffers

Dubai: Iranian authorities have freed five of the nine British embassy staffers they had arrested amid efforts by Tehran to contain the recent slide in its relations with Britain and the West.

Iran has accused Western governments, especially Britain and the U.S., of instigating the violence that rocked Tehran and other cities following the announcement of the recent presidential poll results.

The government had arrested nine local British embassy employees on suspicions of involvement in the protests. But on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said five of the staffers had been released, while four were undergoing interrogation.

With the opposition trying to arouse domestic and international support by highlighting the brutal killing of Neda Agha-Soltan on a Tehran street in the midst of protests, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sought an investigation into her death.

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