British Ambassador to Iran strongly denies taking part in protests: saying his arrest had been ‘illegal’ and unjustified

By Tony Winterburn • 12 January 2020 • 22:29

Macaire: ‘Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries.’

Mr Macaire said that he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area, although he was later released.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said he was one of a number of people arrested outside the Amir Kabir University on suspicion of organising, provoking, and directing radical actions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said on its Telegram channel that he had been summoned over his “illegal and inappropriate presence” at the protests. The Foreign Office confirmed that Mr Macaire had been called in.

He was said to have protested strongly that his detention had been unjustified and that it was “completely untrue” to say he had been involved in the protests.

The protests began on Saturday after Iran’s admission that it had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jet caused widespread public anger.

The authorities in Iran were on standby for further demonstrations after the Revolutionary Guard admitted accidentally shooting down the Ukrainian jet with the loss of all 176 people on board.