A top Iranian cleric stated Friday that some of the arrested Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial, and blamed London of a role in instigating post election riots. The declaration by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati alarmed European countries.
Following Jannati's comments, French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday backed Britain, saying "our solidarity with our English friends is total." He said France backs sanctions "so that Iranian leaders will really understand that the path that they have chosen will be a dead end."
According to the AP, Jannati told worshippers during a Friday prayer sermon at Tehran University that the detained staffers "made confessions." "In these events, their embassy had a presence," he said, referring to the post-election turmoil. "Some people were arrested. Well, inevitably, they will be put on trial."
Jannati conveyed that the British "had designed a velvet revolution ... In March, they said (in their Foreign Ministry) that street riots were possible during June elections. These are signs ... revealed by themselves."
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
