Iranians 'stage new anti-British rally'

Iranians in Tehran staged a fresh anti-British demonstration on Friday in support of the storming of Britain's diplomatic compounds earlier this week, the official IRNA news agency reported. After attending Friday prayers in Tehran University, worshippers flocked to central Enqelab (Revolution) Square, chanting "Death to Britain" and "(We) support the seizure of the second den of spies (the British embassy)," said IRNA. They also condemned what they called Britain's hostile policies toward the Islamic republic, and finished up their demonstration by setting British and Israeli flags on fire. IRNA did not say how many people attended the rally. Foreign media in Tehran were told Thursday that covering all anti-British, pro-regime protests was now forbidden -- an unprecedented restriction that adds to many other reporting curbs already in place. Another anti-British rally in front of Qolhak Garden -- Britain's diplomatic residential compound -- was reported Thursday by Mehr news agency but no further details were given. The rise of a new anti-British campaign in Iran comes after London, along with other Western nations, placed sanctions against Tehran's central bank over its nuclear programme. On Tuesday, hundreds of angry protesters ran amok in Britain's diplomatic mission in Tehran, prompting the evacuation of all British diplomats for their safety. Britain in response ordered the closure of the Iranian embassy in London, with its diplomats told to leave the country by 1400 GMT on Friday. During the main weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, a senior cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, warned other Western countries not to follow in the footsteps of Britain. "We advise the Europeans not to entangle their fate with that of a decaying Britain -- or else our nation's hatred toward Britain will also befall them," Khatami said. He instructed worshippers to add "Death to Britain" to their cycle of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" chants. He did not, however, directly mention Tuesday's pillaging of Britain’s embassy.