Two of the British embassy staff detained in Iran had played a “remarkable role” and were “main elements” behind the post-election unrest in Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency alleged on Wednesday.

The report identified them by their initials and said one used to work for Iran’s state-owned Press TV until recently, while the other one was an Iranian woman. It suggested that three of the local embassy staff remained in detention while six had been freed since Saturday when they were all arrested.