Iran says may downgrade ties with Britain: report

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday Tehran was reviewing whether to downgrade ties with Britain, which Iran has accused of interference in its disputed presidential election, the ISNA news agency reported.

The comment by Manouchehr Mottaki came a day after Tehran-London ties hit a new low following Iran's election, with Britain saying it was throwing out two Iranian diplomats in response to Tehran's expulsion of two British diplomats.

Separately on Wednesday, Iran's intelligence minister said some people with British passports were involved in post-election violence in the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

It was the latest in a series of allegations by Tehran of a Western role in the most widespread street unrest that has rocked Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran says pro-opposition demonstrators have been backed by the West, the United States and Britain in particular. London and Washington have rejected the accusations.

Official results showing hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election by a landslide sparked days of street protests. His defeated moderate challenger, Mirhossein Mousavi, says the vote was rigged.

At least 10 protesters were killed in the worst violence on Saturday, and about seven more early last week. State media has blamed the violence on "terrorists" and "vandals."

Asked about the issue of downgrading relations with Britain, Mottaki told reporters, according to ISNA, "We are reviewing this issue."

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Iran's decision to try to turn what are internal matters for Iran into a conflict with the UK - and others - is deeply regrettable and without foundation in fact."

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency: "Some people with British passports were involved in recent riots."

He also said one of those arrested was "disguised as a journalist and he was collecting information needed by the enemies," Fars reported.

The same news agency said on Tuesday that a Greek journalist covering the election for Washington Times had been arrested.

Mohseni-Ejei said: "Whoever, under any name or title, collects information in Iran will be arrested and so far a foreign journalist has been arrested."

He said "another person" was also arrested and interrogated and his equipment confiscated, without giving details.

"Those who call on people to come to the streets ... they are responsible for bloodshed," Mohseni-Ejei said, echoing a statement by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 19.

(Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Parisa Hafezi in Tehran and by London bureau; writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)