British embassy staff's families evacuated from Tehran

PanARMENIAN.Net - In a statement, the British Embassy said: "The ongoing violence has... had a significant impact on the families of our staff who have been unable to carry on their lives as normal. As a result, we are withdrawing dependants of embassy staff until the situation improves.



British citizens already in Iran have not been advised to leave the country, but are being warned to avoid demonstrations and large public gatherings.



The decision follows a week of demonstrations on the streets of Tehran by protesters angry at a presidential election which returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. Iranian security forces have led the violent crackdown on the widening protests.



Iran says at least 17 protesters have been killed in a week of unrest since the June 12 election, which has been denounced as a fraud by Mr Ahmadinejad's main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.



Last week, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Britain as "the most treacherous" of Iran's enemies, prompting Foreign Office protests and the summoning of a senior Iranian diplomat in London for consultations. Britain has a large embassy in Iran. It is not clear how many family members and dependents will be evacuated.



Officials said they did not expect to have to withdraw any diplomats at this stage.



"We do not believe that it is necessary to reduce the number of staff at this time, however, we are monitoring the situation with the utmost vigilance," the spokesman said.



Former imperial power Britain has a long history of involvement in Iran and diplomatic relations have been rocky recently. Britain suspended its diplomatic ties after the Islamic revolution in 1979, reopening an embassy only in 1988 following the Iran-Iraq war.



The Foreign Office travel advice now reads: "Large-scale demonstrations following the Iranian presidential elections June 12 continue. There have been violent clashes at and after some demonstrations with some deaths. Further violence is possible.



"Some forms of international and internal communications have been disrupted, eg SMS, mobile telephone coverage and internet.

"You should avoid demonstrations and large public gatherings."