Britain must avoid the public confrontation Iran is seeking

THE arrest of nine Iranian citizens who work at the British embassy in Tehran, on trumped-up charges accusing them of helping to promote the recent anti-government demonstrations, is a clear attempt by the regime to shift attention away from its own troubles.

It is now quite clear there was massive fraud involved in the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets in protest only to be met by mass arrests and beatings. Yet resistance to the regime rem...