Iranian Foreign Ministry expresses regret over British embassy storming

TEHRAN, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the storming of the British embassy in Tehran and the ensuing incidents on Tuesday.

In a statement posted on its website, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that it felt regretted over what it called the " unacceptable" behavior of some protesters in front of the British embassy during the day.

On Tuesday, thousands of angry Iranians staged protests in front of the British embassy in central Tehran and the British Council compound in the Qolhak area in northern Tehran, one day after Iran's Guardian Council of the Constitution, the country's highest legislative body, unanimously approved reducing the diplomatic ties with Britain in response to its "hostile" policy against Iran.

Britain severed all links with Iran's banks last week as part of its new financial sanctions in the wake of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that expressed concern over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

Chanting anti-Britain slogans, the protesters, mostly local university students, urged the Iranian government to expel the British ambassador. Some clashed with the guards, set fire to the British flag, smashed windows, and hurled Molotov Cocktail explosives and stones at the embassy building. Some even took out documents from the offices, tore them apart and set them ablaze.