David Miliband, who is on the Greek island of Corfu for a meeting of foreign ministers' from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said Britain has protested to the Iranian authorities about the detentions, which he said occurred Saturday.

''This is harassment and intimidation of a kind which is quite unacceptable,'' Miliband said. ''These are hardworking diplomatic staff. The idea that the British Embassy is somehow behind the demonstrations and protests that have been taking place in Tehran. ... is wholly without foundation.''

Iranian media reported Sunday that authorities had detained eight local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran for an alleged role in postelection protests, signaling a hardening of Iran's stance toward the West.

Miliband said some of the employees had been released following their detention, but that others continued to be held. He said ''about nine'' workers had initially been detention. It was not clear how many of those had been released.

''At the moment our top priority is the position of our locally engaged staff, who we want to see released, unharmed and back at work,'' Miliband said.

EU ministers held their own meeting about Iran in Corfu, Greece, after the OSCE meeting Sunday afternoon, and expressed support for Britain.

''We have an agreement which reaffirms solidarity among member states particularly to the British authorities about the arrests,'' Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.