EU diplomats may walk over detainees

BRUSSELS, June 29 (UPI) -- European Union countries may stage a brief mass withdrawal of ambassadors if Iran doesn't release detained British Embassy personnel, diplomats said.

The Guardian newspaper reported EU diplomats said the ambassadors would only be recalled temporarily. The detained embassy employees, all Iranians, have been accused of inciting protests of the recent Iranian presidential election, which critics call a fraud. Britain denies the accusation.

The unnamed embassy employees were arrested Saturday. Five were freed Monday, the newspaper said, but four others, the most senior, were still undergoing interrogation.

Speaking in London alongside European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the detentions unacceptable and unjustified, The Guardian said.

EU foreign ministers Sunday warned that any "harassment or intimidation" of embassy staff would face "a strong and collective" response, the British said, adding that most of the 27 EU countries have their own ambassadors in Tehran.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Group of Eight nations would discuss sanctions against Iran. Italy hosts a G8 meeting next week.

The Guardian said Iran's Foreign Ministry had said it did not want to damage relations with Britain, but British officials fear hard-liners, not the foreign minister, are in control of the situation.