Just after 3 p.m. on Nov. 29, about 200 demonstrators ransacked the British Embassy in Tehran, chanting "Death to England," setting fire to the Union Jack, carting off a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, and detaining staff as Iranian security officers stood by. It bore all the marks of a state-orchestrated provocation.What aroused Iranian leaders' ire were stiff financial penalties imposed on Nov. 21 by the U.K., the U.S., and Canada. The European Union was also expected on Dec. 1 to impose trade and travel bans on almost 200 Iranian individuals and companies.
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