Iranians pelt British embassy in Tehran over party

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Demonstrators pelted the British embassy in Tehran on Thursday with stones and eggs and condemned anyone attending the queen's annual birthday party as "traitors" and supporters of the "Old Fox" Britain.

"Guests of the British, shame, shame," read one placard at the gathering of more than 50 protesters from hardline student groups next to the embassy compound before the party started.

The embassy was circled by dozens of police in riot gear, who pushed some of the protesters away.

Some Iranian guests scuffled with protesters. Police separated them and the visitors left without going inside. Some foreign envoys were initially blocked from entering but later drove in, a British diplomat said. He said others walked in.

"The British embassy should be closed down and the ambassador of the 'Old Fox' should be expelled," read a banner. "Britain commits treason and the traitor supports it," said another.

Witnesses said some Iranian guests were taken away by police but it was not clear if they were being detained or simply being questioned.

The witnesses also said guests leaving the embassy were filmed and photographed by men waiting outside the gates.

Dozens of Iranian guests were ferried out of the embassy compound in diplomatic vehicles at the end of the party for fear that they could be detained too when leaving.

The hardline Kayhan newspaper said on Wednesday this year's garden party was part of a "psychological war" planned with the United States against Iran. The daily Siyassat-e Rouz said on Thursday any Iranians who turned up were "domestic opponents".

Britain's embassy is often the focus for anti-Western protests in Iran, where Tehran's arch foe, the United States, has no mission after cutting ties in 1980. Washington severed relations after radical students seized its mission.

The embassy's birthday party for the queen is an annual event, but this year comes amid rising tension with the West over Iran's nuclear ambitions and an Iranian crackdown on those it says are getting U.S. backing to undermine the government.

In March, Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen, eight Royal Navy sailors and seven marines, in the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis.

Tehran, which said the Britons were in Iranian waters, released them the following month.

Western diplomats say Iranian analysts, activists and politicians are more reluctant to meet them for fear they may be branded foreign collaborators since the arrest of three U.S.-Iranians on security-related charges.

Iran has linked those arrests to a so-called "soft revolution", a perceived plot by the United States to undermine the government using intellectuals and others inside Iran.

A British diplomat dismissed criticism of the annual party, saying there was no difference between the event in Tehran and other gatherings held at missions all over the world.

Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926, but official celebrations to mark her birthday are held in June.