Iran's embassy in London seized

Three gunmen took over the Iranian Embassy in London Wednesday in the third incident of Arab-related violence here since last month, Monitor correspondent Rushworth Kidder reports.

Holding 20 hostages, including one metropolitan policeman, they reportedly demanded that 91 prisoners held in southwestern Iran be released and flown to London and that an airplane be provided to ferry themselves, the prisoners, and the hostages out of Britain.

They threatened to blow up the embassy and kill their hostages if the demands were not met by noon on May 1.

Analysts here suggest that the gunmen may be associated with the Arabistan Liberation Front and could have Iraqi backing. Militants in Arabistan, or the Khuzestan region, where most of Iran's oil is found, and where some 2 million Arabs live, have been demanding autonomy --loyal to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.