Iranians vent anger at Britain

TEHRAN - Thousands of Iranians vented their anger at Britain at the funerals of six people killed in weekend bombings which Iran has blamed on London.

State television showed mourners chanting "Death to Britain" as they carried the coffins of those killed in Saturday's twin blasts through the streets of the southwestern city of Ahvaz, where the attacks occurred.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won June elections pledging a tougher foreign policy and a crackdown on corruption, said on Sunday Iran was "very suspicious about the role of British forces" in the bombings.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings and local government officials denied reports that one suspect had been arrested and confessed to receiving training from the UK.

Britain has condemned and denied any involvement in the blasts, which were the latest in a spate of bombings and unrest in the oil-producing Khuzestan province which borders southern Iraq and where, unusually for Iran, ethnic Arabs constitute the majority of the population.

Relations between Tehran and London have worsened sharply in recent weeks over Britain's support for US moves to refer Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council and accusations that Iran was linked to insurgent attacks on British troops in Iraq.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons or meddling in Iraq.

"They might think that by doing such things we will forget about (our pursuit of) nuclear energy," an unidentified woman told state television in Ahvaz.

"But let me tell them that we will follow these martyrs," she said.

Men beat their chests in grief and shouted "God is Greatest" at the funeral procession.

The homemade bombs were left in rubbish bins outside a busy shopping mall and detonated three minutes apart, wounding almost 100 people and damaging several cars and shop fronts.

Brigadier General Mohsen Kazemeini, Revolutionary Guards commender of south Iran, said the blasts bore the hallmarks of Ahvaz bombings in June that killed four people.

Security forces have rounded up five cells of opposition groups involved in those attacks and earlier disturbances who had confessed to "receiving support, equipment and terrorist training," by British forces in Iraq, he told Fars.

He said all those under arrest would be tried and executed.

Mistrust of Britain runs deep in Iran because of London's long history of involvement in pivotal events such as its reluctance to surrender control of Iran's oil industry and the 1953 coup that toppled popular nationalist leader Mohammad Mossadeq.

"The accent of the Ahvaz bombings" proclaimed the Etemad newspaper, referring to a military commander's remark that the sound of the blasts "had a British accent".

But not all were keen to pin the blame on London.

"Accusing a country without documents will have negative impact on relations between Iran and Britain," Mahmoud Mohammadi, a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Affairs commission, said.

Asked whether the accusations against Britain were related to Iran's nuclear standoff with the West he said: "I hope not. If Iran's accusation is politically motivated, it could have a negative political impact and will damage the international community's trust in Iranian officials' remarks."

- REUTERS