Stockholm, 01/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Swedish prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, who has taken the helm of the European Council for the next six months, strongly criticised the detention of British Embassy staff in Tehran on the first day of the Swedish Presidency on Wednesday. Several of the nine arrested members of staff have been freed but some were still under arrest on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference after a meeting between the Swedish government and the European Commission in Stockholm (see related article), Reinfeldt said the Iranian claims that the arrested individuals had been involved in the demonstrations after the elections were “totally unfounded” and the EU had to show solidarity and see what it could do against the taking of such measures. At the same time, the president of the European Council called for a prudent and “balanced” approach to Iran, which he described as a “very important country”. While backing the Iranian people's calls for greater freedom, the EU should avoid “polarising” Iran against the rest of the world because that would lead back to a situation already experienced in the past when there was little hope of making progress on the nuclear issue, he added. Such a situation could be used by the regime in Iran as a pretext for using violence and repression against its own people, said Reinfeldt. The Iranian nuclear question will be on the agenda of the meeting of EU27 foreign ministers in Stockholm on Thursday and Friday this week. (H.B./transl.fl)