Well, the two British embassy staff arrested by the Iranian government are to be put on trial.

Guardians Council chief Ahmad Jannati said: “Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions.”

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“In these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested,” Ayatollah Jannati told the thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers, according to news agencies.

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Ayatollah Jannati added: “After the election, the enemy could not stand people’s joy. The enemy made an effort to poison the people. They had planned a velvet revolution before the election.”

He said the UK foreign office had warned of possible “street riots” around the 12 June election and had advised its nationals to avoid public places.

This is a shrewd move by the Guardian council. The implication of British involvement in the riots seems to us to be an attempt to excuse the riots as the wicked interfering hand of foreign powers, rather than the protests being at the whim of the Iranian people.

One excerpt from the article caused us amusement:

Historians says the distrust between the UK and Iran stems from the 1800s, when Iran – then Persia – was forced to concede territory to Russia in a treaty drafted by a British diplomat.

Thank God (sic) for the BBC’s official historians. I now feel enlightened.

Iran has arrested eight British embassy staff in Tehran

The UK has demanded the immediate release of Iranian staff at its Tehran embassy who were arrested on Saturday. Iranian media earlier reported that eight local staff at the mission had been detained for their “considerable role” in post-election riots.

This channel is full of videos from the demonstrations. If you’re a YouTube member, become a subscriber to his channel to show support.

J Post reports on the continued riots.

Here’s a video of live ammunition being fired into the crowd.

Hard to tell how much is true of this, but there is no doubt of the cruel methods being used by the authorities:

“We can see the smoke and the helicopters from our house,” said a source in Teheran. “They have closed down all the roads, trapping the people, who are being bombarded.”

People were chanting “Allah Akbar” and “We will kill those who kill our brothers” from their windows, balconies, and rooftops, he said.

Most of Mousavi’s supporters “are not leaving our homes,” he went on.

“God help those people [who have gone out] in Freedom Square. The last we heard, helicopters are pouring boiling hot water on the people,” said another source. His account could not be confirmed, but other reports also spoke of boiling water being dropped from the helicopters, and of an undefined “acid” being sprayed at demonstrators by security forces on the streets. “Hospitals are overflowing and the embassies in Teheran have left their doors open to provide a haven for the injured for sanctuary,” the source added.

Obama’s starting to speak.

He is urging Iran’s leaders to “govern through consent, not coercion” And in a statement from the White House on Saturday, he said: “The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.”

No direct condemnation. A country that funds the murder of your soldiers in Iraq is crippled with angry young voters. If the protesters had the backing of the world’s most powerful man behind them, it would give their cause an energy and possibility of success. Some have argued that this would give the hardliners real ammunition: the chance to blame America – the interfering superpower. But this is nonsense, the protesters are people young and old, deeply religious and not at all. They have the chance to change something here. And they won’t for the most part believe that the whole protests are being fomented by Israeli and US agents – as the regime is claiming.

Iran seems to have a revolution every 35 years, and they’re overdue for one now.

Obama’s response to the depostic Iranian suppression of the riots is appalling. Powerline points out what Reagan might have said:

Make no mistake, their crime will cost them dearly in their future dealings with America and free peoples everywhere. I do not make this statement lightly or without serious reflection.

Here’s some Channel 4 footage of the horrific response to the protesters:

In the face of ever-growing numbers of protesters, the Guardian Council has ordered a recount of votes.

There are some extraordinary pictures of the elections here at Boston.com

The Presidential elections results have shown that Ahmadinejad has received 2/3 of the vote, a landslide; but do the people believe it?

Chaos in Tehran