It's been a dramatic day for UK's diplomats in Iran. Youth protesters - many of them organised by a student branch of the pro-regime Basiji militia under the control of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - burned the British flag and set a car on fire in protest at sanctions imposed last week on the Iranian banking system.
With Iranian riot police simply standing by, demonstrators broke into the main building and tore down pictures of The Queen, looted sensitive documents, smashed windows and even threw petrol bombs.
It was sheer luck that the events did not end with casualties among UK's Diplomats.
Sanctions have been imposed on Iran as means to halt its nuclear weapons program. In the past Iran did not react to such sanctions except for claiming its nuclear program is "peaceful". But now Iran's secret is out. The latest UN report officially branded Iran's nuclear program not "peaceful" and exposed its plans to build nuclear weapons.
The attack drew criticism from world leaders mostly saying that Iran’s government is expected to protect the lives and property of diplomats on its soil.
The US has now added another layer of sanctions to shrink the circle of foreign buyers of Iran's oil. But as the 3rd largest crude supplier in the world, Iran is likely to find buyers after all.
With it's intentions clear Iran is sending a strong signal to the West with the attack on the British embassy - so close to the finish line, Iran is determined to see this through.
