GORDON Brown has condemned the use of violence and media suppression in Iran after the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced Britain as the "most treacherous" of Iran's enemies.
In his strongest comments to date in the wake of the country's disputed presidential elections, the Prime Minister said following the Ayatollah's speech yesterday that it was for the regime to prove to the world that the elections were fair.
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l Movahedian, the Iranian ambassador, was summoned to the Foreign Office to explain Ayatollah Khamenei's comments, after he attacked what he called interference by foreign powers who had questioned the result of the 12 June poll, describing the British government as "evil" and "sinister".
Thousands listened to Ayatollah Khamenei's speech from loudspeakers outside Tehran University, at times chanting "death to the UK, Israel and US". It was the same venue where, last Sunday, hundreds of students demonstrated in support of defeated opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Speaking from the European summit in Brussels, Mr Brown said the EU was unanimous in condemning crackdowns against protesters who took to the streets claiming the election was rigged.
"I believe that it is right for us to speak out for rights, to speak out against repression, to speak out in condemnation of violence, to speak out for a free media that is prevented from doing its job, and we will continue to do it," he said.
"It is for Iran now to show the world that the elections are fair. It is also the wish of the world that the repression and the brutality that we have seen in these last few days is not something that is going to be repeated.
"The eyes of the world are upon Iran at the moment. We want Iran to be part of the international community and not to be isolated but it is for Iran to prove, not just to Britain but to the whole of the world and to their own people, that they can respect these basic rights."
In the end, it was not Mr Movahedian but a more junior diplomat who attended a meeting with Foreign Office political director Mark Lyall Grant.
"We made clear to the Iranian chargé that the supreme leader's comments were unacceptable and had no basis in fact," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
During an escalating diplomatic spat, Britain's ambassador to Iran has twice been called to meetings with officials in Tehran in recent days, on one occasion to receive a complaint about the BBC's coverage of the 12 June elections.
Delivering his sermon as he led Friday prayers, Ayatollah Khamenei upheld the election victory of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He issued a strong warning to leaders of mass street protests against a disputed presidential election that they would be responsible for any bloodshed.
His words appeared to hint at a future crackdown by authorities on rallies after the election a week ago, which Ayatollah Khamenei said was fairly won by Mr Ahmadinejad and not rigged, as defeated candidate Mr Mousavi alleges.
Ayatollah Khamenei called for an end to the protests in his first address to the nation since the election results triggered the most widespread street demonstrations in the Islamic Republic's 30-year history, which have claimed up to eight lives.
Mr Mousavi's supporters have planned another demonstration today.
AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI ON…
BRITAIN "I will tell you the diplomats of some western countries have taken their masquerade away from their faces and they are showing their true image. They are displaying their enmity against the Islamic state, and the most evil of them is the British government"
THE OPPOSITION "I am urging them to end street protests, otherwise they will be responsible for the consequences. The result of the election comes out of the ballot box, not from the street. If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible"
ELECTIONS "Iran's laws do not allow vote-rigging … If the difference was 100,000 or 500,000 or one million, well, one may say fraud could have happened. But how can one rig 11 million votes?"
UNITED STATES"American officials' remarks about human rights are not acceptable because they have no idea about human rights after what they have done in Afghanistan and Iraq and other parts of the world. We do not need advice from them"
