NY - Angry mob confront Iranian diplomat after spotting him walking near U.N.

An Iranian diplomat was escorted from a Manhattan street by New York police after he was surrounded and threatened by an angry mob of protesters near the United Nations.

Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was walking near the United Nations yesterday when he was noticed and confronted by the angry mob on Second Avenue near East 48th Street, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

He flagged down police officers, who helped him get to a safe spot. Browne said the threats were believed to have been verbal.

The incident followed a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the U.N. General Assembly.

Outside the building, thousands of anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrators rallied in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza opposite the world body.