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  Date / Time: 8/10/2009 7:41 PM UTC

  Britain behind 'coup attempt' claim Iranian hardliners
  

  Britain has been accused of directing a coup attempt against the Iranian government as hardliners demanded an even tougher response against protesters and opposition leaders.

   

  By Richard Spencer in Dubai
  Published: 6:04PM BST 09 Aug 2009

  

  Photo: GETTY IMAGES

  Pro-government newspapers gave an uncompromising response to protests from the Foreign Office and from the European Union over the trial of a British embassy employee on espionage and national security charges.

  "London, the command room of street riots in Tehran, with Washington and Tel Aviv's co-operation," was the headline of the front page of Kayhan, a conservative daily newspaper, over its report of the trial.

   

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  "The British embassy: headquarters for the coup command," said the government newspaper Iran.

  The employee, Hossein Rassam, who was charged with spying, on Saturday followed a line of opposition leaders, protesters and activists who have made "confessions" at the start of their trials. He admitted cultivating networks of contacts in the opposition movement using a £300,000 budget.

  He claimed local staff of the embassy attended protests against June's presidential election result along with two British diplomats, named in court as Tom Burn and Paul Blemey, and that he had attended meetings with the defeated opposition leader Mir Hossein Mossavi alongside Mr Burn.

  David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, described the charges as "unjustified" and said Mr Rassam had been going about his "legitimate duties". But the clear association between the charges laid and Mr Rassam's job as chief political analyst for the embassy raises the question of whether he was put in an overly sensitive position.

  Diplomats described the allegation that the protests were directed from London as a coup attempt as "ridiculous".

  They were unwilling to discuss Mr Rassam's exact duties but locally recruited staff are said to play similar roles in embassies around the world, monitoring local media and attending meetings with politicians, including opposition figures.

  In this case, the embassy may have been caught unawares by the sudden shift in position of figures such as Mr Mossavi from legitimate presidential candidate - he is a former prime minister - to alleged ringleader of anti-government "riots".

  Analysts say the trials and the furious denunciations of Britain and the West reflect the fury of the conservative establishment, including the man officially re-elected as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the armed forces, at being challenged so openly.

  A senior figure in the Revolutionary Guards on Sunday demanded the arrest and prosecution of Mr Moussavi, another defeated candidate in the election, Mehdi Karroubi, and the reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami.

  "The question is who were the main planners and agents of this coup," said Yadollah Javani, head of the Guards' political bureau in an article. "What is the role of Khatami, Mousavi and Karroubi in this coup?

  "If they are the main agents, which is the case, judiciary and security officials should go after them, arrest them, try them and punish them."

  The Iranian government says 26 people were killed as police and the basij militia clashed with protesters in the aftermath of the election, on June 12.

  More than 110 people have been brought before judges at the start of mass trials of those alleged to be involved. Alongside Mr Rassam in court on Saturday were a French embassy employee, Nazak Afshar, and a French teaching assistant, Clotilde Reiss.

  Many more remain in jail awaiting charges.

  The Swedish presidency of the European Union issued a statement condemning the trials of Miss Reiss and the embassy workers. "Actions against one EU country, citizen or embassy staff is considered an action against all of the EU, and will be treated accordingly," it said.

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