Iran Embassy Video Special: Umbrella 1, Iranian Diplomat 0

This week British diplomats in Tehran have faced hostile rhetoric from senior regime figures, the ransacking of their Embassy by hundreds of "students", and the prospect of hostage status.

But they have never encountered the menace that threatened their Iranian counterparts in London.

Beware the umbrella --- a member of the Iranian Embassy in Britain, trying to escape media attention as the staff were ordered to leave the UK, finds himself undone by a parasol:

Iran 1st-Hand Special: Basij Student's Account of the Attack on the British Embassy

See also The Latest from Iran (2 December): After the Embassy, It's Back to the Economy

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A first-hand account from one of the Basij militia who attacked the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday --- the author, Hamid Darveshie Shahkolaie, is  the editor-in-chief of "Hayat", the monthly publication of the Basij students of Imam Sadeq University. Posted early Wednesday morning, it also offers photographs of the attack:

Our entrance sounded the alarm. That reminded me of computer games where you fire the first shot and you start hearing the alarm all of a sudden. To make it short, we found six staff members. We told them to be calm and not to be afraid. We [said that we] have come here because of the dangerous and animosity-filled policies of their government and its hand in the assassination of Dr. Shahriari [Majid Shahriari, a scientist killed in November 20010] and nuclear issues and such and that we would give them their passports at the airport so they can return to their country.

I don't want to brag, but their translator (the guard) told us: "You came in so fast and caught me off-guard that I wasn't able to fulfill my duty, which was to escort them out." He was a lowly man and a liar. For instance he told us there were just five staff members, but we found a sixth. The poor staff were very afraid and locked the door so that we would not find them.

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Iran Analysis: The Embassy Attack --- "A Serious Mis-Calculation" by the Regime

Even though we still do not have the answer to who gave the green light to Tuesday's plan, this appears to be a confused regime, trying to sort out its next steps after the unexpected turn in developments. Indeed, the lack of an answer to our questions, "Who is responsible? Who is co-ordinating?", is telling. A fragmented political system, beset by in-fighting for months, appears to have embarked on a risky venture which has quickly run into trouble.

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Iran Feature: So Who Were the "Students" in the Embassy Attack?

Many reports have used the term "students" to describe those who demonstrated and occupied the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday. However, if you take a closer look at what the Iranian media and the "students" themselves are saying, you will get a much better idea of who is responsible. 

Throughout the attack, major State-run news organizations like Iranian Students News Agency and Islamic Republic News Agency were running updates of how "students" had broken into the Embassy. Fair enough ---  you would not expect these outlets to give away the identities of the attackers; there is a concept called plausible deniability, and the Iranian regime is fully aware of it. So to understand what was occurring, one has to look for the proverbial stupid friend.

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Iran Special Analysis: More Than a Game --- 6 Points About the Attack on the British Embassy

Protester Carries Picture of The Queen1. WHY DID THE IRANIAN REGIME PLAY THIS GAME?

Let's start with two points: 1) the regime almost certainly had an important connection with Tuesday's demonstration and attack on the British Embassy; 2) it supported that display of force not from strength, but from weakness.

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Iran Audio Feature: Scott Lucas with the BBC about Attack on UK Embassy

Last night I spoke with BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight about Tuesday's events in Tehran. The interview was too brief to get out some points --- I think one development behind the pressure on Britain, the "punching bag" for Tehran's fight-back against Western pressure, is the Iranian regime's uncertainty over the recent explosions at a Revolutionary Guards base and in Isfahan on Monday --- but hopefully it offers a few pointers to what happened and what happens next.

The discussion begins at the 40:13 mark.