No diplomat detained from British Embassy: Qashqavi

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday that no diplomat has been detained from the British Embassy in Tehran.

Talking to reporters, he said that those arrested are Iranian nationals and local staff of the British Embassy in Tehran.

He added, “Usually, there are local staff from various nationalities working at embassies.”

The arrest of local staff of the British Embassy in Tehran has nothing to do with the convention of diplomatic rights and is not against diplomatic norms either, Qashqavi added.

He added that five out of the nine detained local staff of the British Embassy have so far been released while others are still under investigation.

He said that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wrote a letter to his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki two days ago, adding that the two officials also talked on phone last night.

"During the telephone conversation, Miliband had stressed that Britain’s intention was not to interfere in Iran’s domestic affairs," Qashqavi said.

The spokesman quoted Mottaki as having told Miliband in reply that if they really prove non-interference in practice, it can be considered as a positive step towards bilateral cooperation.

End