Students protestors in Tehran burn pictures of Obama, Mubarak

Jan 13, 2009, 17:29 GMT

Tehran - Islamist students in Tehran on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Swiss embassy, shouting slogans in solidarity with Palestine and burning pictures of US president-elect Barack Obama and Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak.

According to the ISNA news agency, the students hoisted the Palestinian flag in front of the Swiss embassy which acts as a intermediary of the United States with Iran, as Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic ties for three decades.

'While innocent people are killed by Israeli bombs in the Gaza Strip, Obama is looking for a puppy for his daughter,' one of the students said.

Protest demonstrations by Islamist students in Iran usually end with the burning of Israel and US flags as well as of effigies of Bush. The picture of Obama and Mubarak were burnt for the first time.

The students said they would continue their protest in front of the Egyptian interest section.

The Iranian government has also adopted a harsh stance against Israel for the attacks on the Gaza Stripand has criticized Arab governments for insufficient support for Palestinian Islamic group Hamas that rules the strip.

The Tehran government however has so far distanced itself from the most radical suggestions by the students and has for example not allowed some 70,000 Iranian volunteers to travel to Gaza to fight Israel.