TEHERAN - A BRANCH of Italian clothing retailer Benetton was set on fire in Iran amid angry protests against the Israeli onslaught on the Hamas-ruled Gaza, media reports said on Wednesday.

The store, located on Dowlat street in upmarket north Teheran, 'was set on fire by unknown people,' conservative Jomhuri Eslami newspaper and several other media reported.

The Teheran fire department said the cause of the incident, which occurred very early on Tuesday, was under investigation, ISNA news agency reported.

Benetton 'is said to be linked with the Zionist network,' government newspaper Iran charged, adding that its opening in the Islamic republic 'has sparked several disputes over the past two years and people and student bodies objected to its activities.'

Several Benetton stores have opened in the past two years in fashion-starved Iran, where global brands have largely been absent since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Last year a group of prominent MPs protested against Benetton's presence in Iran, alleging that it was owned by a 'Zionist millionaire' and that its fashions were a bad influence on female consumers.

Angry protests have been held across Iran since Israel launched a deadly air raid on Gaza on Saturday.

On Tuesday evening a group of Iranian demonstrators stormed the British diplomatic compound in Teheran to protest London's stance towards the Israeli offensive, which has so far killed at least 374 Palestinians.

Iran is a staunch supporter of the Islamist movement Hamas and does not recognise its archfoe Israel.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decreed on Sunday that anyone who died in the defence of Gaza would be deemed a martyr.

Islamic republic conservatives have long urged consumers to boycott 'Zionist' products, ranging from Coca-Cola and Pepsi soft drinks, to Calvin Klein clothing and Nestle food products. -- AFP