Iranian protesters storm British embassy UPDATED: SCROLL

Cameron: Iran's failure to protect embassy is a disgrace
• Hague: all diplomats safe, Iran faces 'serious consequences'
• Siege ends after more than seven hours of chaos
• Union flag torn down and replaced with Iran flag
• Protesters brandish looted Queen Elizabeth II portrait
 

UPDATING SCROLL:

16.26 Thomas Erdbrink of the Washington Post tweets:

situation in front of northern British embassy compound still tense, students say they have handed "spies" over to police.

16.19 Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander says:

News of the utterly deplorable assault today on the British Embassy in Tehran is deeply concerning. At this time the immediate priority must be the safety of British diplomatic staff in Tehran. The backdrop to these violent events are the recent worrying scenes witnessed in the Iranian parliament. Our efforts to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons must continue notwithstanding these appalling scenes.

_{Iranian protesters burn the British flag outside the embassy in Tehran}

What a time to have a disaster in the White House.

Union flag torn down and replaced with Iran flag
• Protesters brandish looted Queen Elizabeth II portrait
• Windows smashed and documents being thrown from them
• Chants of 'death to England' by dozens of protesters
• Attack day after law passed to expel ambassador

Telgraph live blog here.

Tom Gross has this:

1. British government condemns storming of embassy in Iran
2. "Iran strike aftermath couldn't be as bad as nuclear Iran" (By Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post, Nov. 23, 2011)
3. "World must believe Netanyahu on Iran" (By David Landau, Sydney Morning Herald, Nov. 24, 2011)
4. "How to Topple the Ayatollahs" (By Jamsheed Choksy, Wall St. Journal, Nov. 23, 2011)
5. "More half-measures from Obama on Iran" (Editorial, Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2011)

Iranian protesters break into British Embassy in Tehran CNN

Britain's Foreign Office says it is 'outraged' by the hardline students' incursion

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian protesters stormed two British Embassy compounds in Tehran on Tuesday, smashing windows and burning the British flag during a rally to protest against sanctions imposed by Britain, live Iranian television showed.

Several dozen protesters broke away from a crowd of a few hundred protesters outside the main embassy compound, scaled the embassy gates and went inside. Iranian security forces appeared to do little to stop them.

The demonstrators threw molotov cocktails and one waved a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth apparently found inside the main compound, the state TV showed.

PhotoBlog: Iranian protesters break into British Embassy in Tehran

An NBC News cameraman at the scene reported that the protesters tore down the British flag and replaced it with the Iranian flag.

The Associated Press reported that the protesters, numbering in the dozens, were hardline students and that they clashed with riot police.

They chanted, "The Embassy of Britain should be taken over" and "Death to England."

Less than two hours later, police appeared to regain control of the site. But the official IRNA news agency said about 300 protesters entered the British ambassador's residence in another part of the city and replaced British flags with Iranian ones.

Without specifying which compound it was referring to, the semi-official Mehr news agency said embassy employees fled. "They left the building a few minutes ago through the back door," the report said.

The British Foreign Office confirmed the "incursion" by demonstrators and vandalism to embassy property in a statement, and said it was "outraged."

"Under international law, including the Vienna Convention," the Iranian government has "a clear duty to protect diplomats and Embassies in their country and we expect them to act urgently to bring the situation under control and ensure the safety of our staff and security of our property," the statement said.

The Foreign Office said it was in contact with embassy officials. Officials were still checking on the well-being of workers and diplomats, a spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with standing policy.

It later issued a statement calling on Iranian authorities "to act with utmost urgency to ensure the situation is brought under control and to protect our diplomatic compound, as they are obliged to do under international law."

It advised British nationals in Iran to "stay indoors, keep a low profile and await further advice."

New sanctions
The incident followed Britain's imposition of new sanctions on the Islamic state last week over its nuclear program.

London banned all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, as part of a new wave of sanctions by Western countries.