<p>A large number of students were staging a noisy protest at both places to denounce what they said was Britain's hostility to Iran.<br /><br />Some 100 of them forced their way into the British Council building and took six staffers hostage, Xinhua reported. It did give their nationality.<br /><br />A similar protest saw a similar invasion by students earlier at the British embassy in central Tehran.<br /><br />At both places, British flags were pulled down and replaced with Iranian flags.<br /><br />Some of the protesters clashed with riot police and climbed over the gate of the compound. <br /><br />The riot police failed to prevent them from entering the embassy.<br /><br />A Xinhua reporter saw the students set fire to the British flag after dragging it down. They demanded the expulsion of the British ambassador. <br /><br />Some others smashed the windows of the embassy building, took out some documents from the offices of the embassy and set fire to them, the Xinhua reporter said.<br /><br />The smoke caused by the fire was visible from outside the embassy.<br /><br />Britain's Foreign Office said it was outraged by the actions and urged Tehran to honour international commitments to protect diplomatic missions and their staff, BBC reported.<br /><br />The rampage occurred a day after Iran's highest legislative body, Guardian Council of the Constitution, unanimously approved reducing diplomatic ties with Britain in response to its "hostile" policy against Iran.<br /><br />Britain severed all links with the Iranian banks last week as part of its new sanctions imposed in the wake of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that expressed concern over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. <br /></p>
<p>A large number of students were staging a noisy protest at both places to denounce what they said was Britain's hostility to Iran.<br /><br />Some 100 of them forced their way into the British Council building and took six staffers hostage, Xinhua reported. It did give their nationality.<br /><br />A similar protest saw a similar invasion by students earlier at the British embassy in central Tehran.<br /><br />At both places, British flags were pulled down and replaced with Iranian flags.<br /><br />Some of the protesters clashed with riot police and climbed over the gate of the compound. <br /><br />The riot police failed to prevent them from entering the embassy.<br /><br />A Xinhua reporter saw the students set fire to the British flag after dragging it down. They demanded the expulsion of the British ambassador. <br /><br />Some others smashed the windows of the embassy building, took out some documents from the offices of the embassy and set fire to them, the Xinhua reporter said.<br /><br />The smoke caused by the fire was visible from outside the embassy.<br /><br />Britain's Foreign Office said it was outraged by the actions and urged Tehran to honour international commitments to protect diplomatic missions and their staff, BBC reported.<br /><br />The rampage occurred a day after Iran's highest legislative body, Guardian Council of the Constitution, unanimously approved reducing diplomatic ties with Britain in response to its "hostile" policy against Iran.<br /><br />Britain severed all links with the Iranian banks last week as part of its new sanctions imposed in the wake of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that expressed concern over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. <br /></p>