TEHERAN: Iran said yesterday five of the nine detained local staff at the British embassy in Teheran had been released while the other four were being held for questioning, state television reported.

Iranian media said on Sunday several local embassy staff had been held on accusations of involvement in the street protests that rocked Iran after a disputed June 12 presidential election.

"Out of nine people, five of them have been released and the rest are being interrogated," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference in comments translated by Iran's English-language Press TV.