Iran says the 1980 siege of the Iranian embassy in London was orchestrated by the UK government in a bid to serve American interests.

Deputy Head of Iran's Armed Forces Headquarters, Brigadier General Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri, described the siege laid by a six-man terrorist team to Iran's embassy on April 30, 1980 as a politically-motivated operation directed by the then British government.

"Subsequent investigations into the matter revealed that the terrorist operation had been led by the British government as part of an effort to assist the US government in the issue of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979."

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Gen. Jazayeri said according to the international law, the UK government is obliged to compensate for the mental scars left by the incident even if it is presumed that it did not have a hand in the incident.

The Iranian commander urged further investigations into the still-open case, adding the matter called for an official apology from the British government to the Islamic Republic.

On the morning of Wednesday April 30, 1980, six gunmen attacked the Iranian embassy in London and held 26 people hostage. After a six-day stand-off, the Special Air Service (SAS) launched a dramatic attack on the hostage-takers, bringing the siege to an end with 19 hostages freed, seven dead, and many injured.