Iran’s Foreign Minister lectured the UK government for lending tacit support to Operation Epic Fury in a telephone call with London, he said, criticising the “negative and biased” British.
The United States and Israel should stop launching strikes against Iran and issue guarantees that they won’t be resumed, and Britain should cease its cooperation with “Zionist… terrorist networks” by enabling operations in the Middle East, Tehran told London.
The readout of a claimed call between Iran’s minister Abbas Araghchi and his opposite number in the United Kingdom the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper said the pair “exchanged views” on “the war imposed by the US and the Zionist regime”. Iran didn’t want to attack its neighbours, it was claimed, but had been forced to do so by America.
The Press Association of London states Downing Street responded to Tehran’s statement on the conversation by pointing out the UK “didn’t participate in the initial strikes” because they have a “very clear” position on “not getting drawn into the wider war”. A spokesman for the Prime Minister stated: “We have authorised the US to use our bases for a specific defensive and limited purpose in response to Iran’s continued and outrageous aggression, and we’ve always said that this is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and restore a path to diplomacy.”
It is evident Tehran very much does not see it that way, however, and said Araghchi “criticized the negative and biased approach of Britain and some European countries towards this blatant aggression, which violates international law.”
Allowing the U.S. to use British airbases at all, even if London has crafted a definition of defensive-only action, is “definitely considered as participation in aggression”, Araghchi said. From now on, Iran said, the UK should “avoid any cooperation with the United States and the Zionist regime, in the military and media fields, including providing a platform for terrorist networks to operate.”
Having been scolded, Britain was told that having given the U.S. any aid at all will be “recorded in the history of relations between the two countries”.
Criticisms aside, there was something of a threat implied in the remarks too, with Iran telling Britain “we reserve our inherent right to defend the country’s sovereignty and independence.”
