Hossein Rassam, the British embassy employee accused by the Iranian authorities of acting against Iran’s national security, has been released from detention on bail on Sunday.
Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said Mr Rassam, whose detention along with eight other embassy staff in Tehran last month caused a diplomatic row between the UK and Iran, was still charged with “acting against national security”. Several of those detained were accused of being involved in the post-election protests that followed the controversial re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad on June 12.
Tehran has accused western powers of involvement in the civil unrest, the most serious since the 1979 Islamic revolution, which has left at least 20 people dead and hundreds detained.
Iran arrested nine employees of the British embassy’s political section three weeks ago on allegations that they were the link between the UK intelligence service and what the authorities have described as “rioters” protesting against the election results.
Some hardline local papers labelled Mr Rassam, the embassy’s senior political analyst, who is highly respected in diplomatic and international media circles, as “the master key” for his alleged role in helping Britain’s “subversive activities” in Iran.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Tehran took to the streets after the disputed election, claiming that the “landslide” victory of Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, a fundamentalist, was fraudulent.
Iran singled out the US, whose diplomatic ties with Iran were severed after the 1979 revolution and ensuing hostage crisis, and Britain for their “interference” in the country’s internal affairs.
The 27-nation European Union condemned the arrests, demanding that the British embassy staff be released without charge.
Eight were released gradually on bail and have not been allowed back to work at the embassy. None have been put on trial yet.
“Mr Rassam’s file will later go to the court,” Mr Khorramshahi said, adding that he was not informed of any date for a possible trial.
Western diplomats have warned that a prosecution would have serious consequences for Iran and for future diplomatic relations between Iran and the west.
David Miliband, Britain’s foreign secretary, has insisted that the European Union “is absolutely united” against “this sort of intimidation or harassment”.
Mr Rassam’s family deposited bail of 1bn rials ($100,000, £60,000, €70,000) with the court on Sunday afternoon.
