INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Iran has summoned the UK ambassador as hardline militia members mass outside the British embassy in Tehran.The British ambassador to Iran
earlier denied taking part in anti-government demonstrations after he was held by Iranian authorities during protests over a fatal plane
crash.Iranian authorities detained Rob Macaire on Saturday on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions, but an
Iranian news agency later said he had been summoned over his attendance at an "anti-government rally".Image:Iran's Basij militia is
affiliated with Iran's elite Revolutionary GuardImage:The demonstration outside the British embassy came after the UK ambassador was briefly
detainedIt comes as members of Iran's Basij militia, which is affiliated with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, gathered outside the UK
embassy in Tehran demanding it be closed, according to Iranian state media.Video footage shows a large group assembled around a small truck
with speakers erected on its roof, many of whom are holding placards written in Farsi and pictures of assassinated General Qassem
Soleimani.Meanwhile, riot police and plainclothes officers have moved into Tehran's Vali e Asr Square in large numbers amid calls for
further anti-government protests.Security minister calls on Iran to 'de-escalate situation'That prompted US president Donald Trump to tweet:
"To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS
Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching
More importantly, the USA is watching
Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!"On Saturday, riot police fired tear
gas at thousands of Iranians who had taken to the streets to direct their anger at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hours after the country's
Revolutionary Guard admitted shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane near the capital.Mr Macaire said he visited the scene to take part in
a vigil for the 176 victims who died when Iran brought down Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 on Wednesday with a missile it
said was fired in error.Mr Macaire tweeted in Farsi and in English: "Thanks for the many goodwill messages
Can confirm I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy."Normal to want
to pay respects - some of victims were British
I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting."Detained half an hour after leaving the area
Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries."The largest share of the 176 people aboard the flight who died were Iranians,
many with dual citizenship, 57 were Canadian and four were British.Iran has issued visas to a team of Canadian officials to visit the crash
site and they are expected to begin their work there on Tuesday, according to Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.Later on
Sunday, deputy foreign minister of Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded, also on Twitter.He said: "He wasn't detained, but arrested as
unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering
When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified,
out of big surprise, that it's him
15 min later he was free."Earlier, a large black banner was unveiled in Vali e Asr Square bearing names of those who died in the
crash.Overnight, Iranian protesters and newspapers piled pressure on the country's leadership.Iran's moderate Etemad newspaper wrote in a
banner headline on Sunday "Apologise and resign", adding the "people's demand" was that all those responsible for mishandling the plane
crisis should quit.Image:Iranians protest after their government admited shooting down a Ukrainian jetAyatollah Khamenei, the highest
authority in the country, expressed "deep sympathy" to the victims of the plane crash on Saturday but did not apologise, leaving that to
other senior officials.Some officials laid the blame partly at the door of the US, after it heightened US-Iran tensions by assassinating one
of Gen Soleimani, one of Iran's top military leaders.Supreme Leader Khamenei later called for increased cooperation between countries in the
Middle East to reduce tensions in the region, and blamed the problems on the US.His official website stated: "The situation in the region is
inappropriate because of the United States and its friends, and the only way to deal with it is to rely on inter-regional cooperation."Trump
'inspired by courage' of Iranian protestersThe US had previously withdrawn from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and then re-imposed
sanctions that have gradually crippled the Iranian economy.Britain, France and Germany have all said they remain committed to the deal, and
called on Iran to stick to its terms and refrain from further violence.In a statement released by the office of French President Emmanuel
Macron, the leaders of the three countries said: "We urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the agreement and return to full
compliance."We call on Iran to refrain from further violent action or proliferation, and we remain ready to engage with Iran on this agenda
in order to preserve the stability of the region."A commander in the Revolutionary Guard said an air defence operator had mistaken the
Ukrainian passenger jet for a cruise missile after Iran retaliated for the airstrike on Gen Soleimani by hitting US bases in the
region.While the commander apologised, he added to public anger by saying he told the authorities on the day of the crash a missile hit the
plane - three days before the military admitted they had shot it down.Image:Demonstrators chanted 'death to the dictator' during the
protestSecretary of Iran's top national security body, Ali Shamkhani, responded on Sunday saying Iran had no intention to conceal the cause
of the crash as "its nature and technical characteristics make it virtually impossible to conceal".Criticism of the authorities in Iran is
not unheard of, but it tends to stay within narrow limits.The latest protests come weeks after Iran faced the country's bloodiest unrest
since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with dozens said to have been killed.Saturday's demonstrations were not limited to Tehran, with major
cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh seeing similar action on the streets.
