Iran summoned the British ambassador in Tehran today and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki threatened Britain with a "slap in the mouth" if it did not stop interfering in Iranian affairs.
Britain's Foreign Office said Ambassador Simon Gass had responded "robustly" to criticism of a British government statement calling on Tehran to respect the human rights of Iranian citizens.
Mr Gass, summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, had repeated Britain's position that the Iranian government must respect the human rights of its own citizens, the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It did not say what Iranian officials had said to Mr Gass at the meeting.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband criticised Iranian authorities yesterday after eight people were killed in anti-government protests.
Mr Mottaki told a news conference that the ambassador had been summoned over Britain's interference in Iran's domestic affairs.
"If Britain does not stop talking nonsense it will get a slap in the mouth," he said.
The elite Revolutionary Guards said today Iran's opposition was backed by "foreign enemies".
At least 20 opposition figures have been arrested since Sunday as hardline rulers intensify a crackdown on Iran's reform movement.
Reuters