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Iran: British Staffers to be Put on Trial TEHRAN, IRAN (Associated Press) -

An announcement today by a top Iranian cleric is causing some alarm in European capitals.

The cleric says some of the Iranians who worked at the British Embassy in Tehran, and who've been detained in the aftermath of post-election protests there, will be put on trial.

The cleric is also accusing Britain of playing a role in instigating the protests, which sent tens of thousands of Iranians into the streets.

He isn't saying how many staffers will be tried, or on what charges. Iranian officials had earlier said that all but one of the nine embassy personnel who'd been arrested had been released. But EU officials said they believed that more than one was still being held.

The announcement is bringing calls for tougher action against Iran. Britain had already asked members of the European Union to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran to protest the arrest of the embassy staffers.

After the comments by the cleric, France's president is expressing support for Britain. Nicolas Sarkozy says France supports sanctions, so that Iranian leaders will know that "the path that they have chosen will be a dead end."

The U.S. and Europe have been reluctant to react too harshly during Iran's post-election protests and crackdown. The West has been hoping to keep open the prospects of future dialogue with Tehran.
© Copyright 2012, Associated Press