Iran has summoned the British ambassador to Tehran in response to the United Kingdom’s recent decision to raise security alert levels against Iranian threats
Iran has summoned the British ambassador to Tehran in response to the United Kingdom’s recent decision to raise security alert levels against Iranian threats
Iran has summoned the British ambassador to Tehran in response to the United Kingdom’s recent decision to raise security alert levels against Iranian threats.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported on Friday that Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Ambassador Hugo Shorter to formally protest what it described as "repetition of baseless claims by senior British officials against the Islamic Republic of Iran" and "accusing Iran of attempting to interfere in the domestic affairs of the UK."
During the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Ministry presented a formal protest to the British diplomat.
The summons come two days after the British government announced heightened security measures against Iran, citing security threats posed by the Islamic Republic against its opponents on British soil.
Last week, the British government declared that Iran and its agents would be designated as a security threat and required to register their activities in the UK or face up to five years in prison.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons that the entire Iranian state, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its intelligence agency, would be placed in the highest category of a new foreign influence register.
“The government is absolutely committed to ensuring that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to disrupt and degrade the threats that we face from Iran,” Jarvis said.
The designation will also apply to any proxy groups or individuals directed by Iran to conduct activities on its behalf, including criminal recruits previously caught conducting surveillance in the UK.
Jarvis revealed that UK intelligence and police have thwarted 20 plots since 2022 that presented “potentially lethal threats” to British citizens or UK residents.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) is described as a “critical disruptive tool” for monitoring state actors, their agents, and criminal proxies. “They will face a choice: expose their actions to the government or face jail,” Jarvis said.
The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader has called the United States government “bullying” in his first public comments following a letter sent to him by U.S. President Donald Trump
The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader has called the United States government “bullying” in his first public comments following a letter sent to him by U.S. President Donald Trump
The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader has called the United States government “bullying” in his first public comments following a letter sent to him by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking on Saturday during a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Ali Khamenei rejected the prospect of negotiations with “bullying governments,” saying such overtures are “not aimed at solving problems but at imposing their demands.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly not accept their expectations,” Khamenei declared, suggesting that negotiations would only serve as a platform for raising “new demands” beyond the nuclear issue.
He accused Western powers of using negotiations as a pressure tactic. “They keep repeating the word ‘negotiation’ to create pressure in public opinion… This is not negotiation - it is coercion and imposition,” he said.
Khamenei also criticized European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), stating: “Three European countries issue statements claiming that Iran hasn’t fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone from this side should ask them, have you fulfilled yours?”
He added: “Europeans didn’t adhere to their commitments from the very first day. After the US withdrew, they promised to compensate in some way. They broke their promise. Then they said something else and broke their second promise as well. Truly, there’s a limit to how shameless one can be.”
Khamenei called for a firm stance against what he characterized as “coercion and bullying.”
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian echoed Khamenei’s sentiments, calling for national resilience in the face of external pressures.
“We must not back down in the face of enemy threats. These are tests from God,” Pezeshkian said.
The statements follow Donald Trump’s recent disclosure to Fox News that he had sent a letter to Khamenei seeking negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
“I would rather negotiate a deal. I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily,” Trump said.
He added: “But the time is happening now, the time is coming up. Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran - and I’ve written them a letter - saying I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing for them.”