Protesters storm British embassy in Iran

The British embassy compound in Tehran, the Iranian capital, was broken into by protesters during demonstrations against sanctions imposed by the UK.

Offices were ransacked by militant students who were also reported to have burned the British flag and smashed windows. The demonstrations began after Iran decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK following further sanctions imposed on the country.

The student protesters clashed with riot police whilst chanting their plans to overrun the British embassy and “death to England”.

Regret was expressed by Iran regarding the attack on the embassy and an Iranian diplomat in London was summoned by the Foreign Office.

According to the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, Britain held the Iranian government responsible for failure to protect the embassy.

All embassy staff and dependants were accounted for but the Foreign Office urged Britons to “stay indoors, keep a low profile and await further advice” .

Police were back in control of the main embassy building after two hours of firing tear gas but compounds were eventually cleared.