Four protesters gained access to the balcony of the Iranian embassy in London on Friday, police said, prompting a complaint from Tehran about security at the building.

 

A spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police said officers were called at around 4:20 pm (1620 GMT) to the embassy in the exclusive district of Knightsbridge.

 

"Four individuals managed to gain access to the balcony from the outside of the building," she told AFP.

 

She added that the incident was ongoing, saying: "We've been negotiating with them."

 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Tehran had made a strong protest to the British government over the incident, according to the IRNA state news agency.

 

The report said supporters of an "extreme cult" living in Britain were responsible.

 

Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi made his protest known to the British ambassador in Tehran, demanding "absolute protection of our diplomats in London and immediate dealing of the police with the attackers," IRNA said.

 

In 1980, six gunmen who supported a dissident Iranian group took over the Iranian embassy in London, taking more than two dozen hostages.

 

After a six-day siege, British special forces raided the building, killing five of the gunmen.