Iran summons British ambassador over "interfering" comments by Miliband

TEHRAN, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned British ambassador to Iran over the "interfering" comments by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband concerning recent anti-government protests in Tehran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

On Tuesday afternoon, Simon Gass, the British ambassador, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry and was handed over with the Islamic Republic's protests over the UK interference in Iran's internal affairs, the report said.

On Monday, Miliband praised Iran's Ashura Day anti-government protestors for "their great courage" and called on Iran "to observe human rights of its own citizens."

Sporadic clashes were seen in some parts of downtown Tehran on Sunday and police forces fired shots into the air and tear gas to disperse protestors, the local satellite Press TV reported.

On Monday, Press TV quoted Iran's Supreme National Security Council as saying that eight were killed in Sunday's clashes between anti-government protestors and security forces in Tehran. More than 300 were arrested.

The Ashura ritual is performed in Iran and some other countries with large populations of Shiite Muslims. During the annual Ashur acommemorations, mourners, generally clad in black, take to the streets or gather in mosques to grieve over the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, who was killed and buried in Karbala in 680 AD.