Iran summons British ambassador over London’s meddlesome statements, interference

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the British Ambassador to Tehran, Simon Shercliff, over UK’s continued interference in Iran's internal affairs and London's new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

According to Press TV quoting a Saturday statement, during a meeting, the head of the Third Bureau of Western Europe at Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the continuation of British officials' meddling and impudent remarks about internal developments in Iran and the support of the country's government and media for acts of terror and turmoil in Iran.

The Iranian official also conveyed the Islamic Republic’s vehement protest at Britain’s illegal sanctions against a number of Iranian nationals to the British envoy.

He told Shercliff that efforts by Britain and the London-based state media to incite more protests in Iran would bear no fruit and would only increase the Iranian nation's hatred towards the European country's policies against Tehran.

The British diplomat was told that the Islamic Republic reserves the right to adopt a retaliatory measure in response to the new sanctions.

Britain on Friday announced sanctions against 10 Iranian officials, the country’s biggest package brought against individuals, over alleged human rights violations, particularly during the recent riots that sparked after the death of a young Iranian woman.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday once again decried Western double standards regarding human rights and women as well as interference in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic, saying those actions have provoked violence and terrorism in the country.

The Iranian foreign minister said rioters and perpetrators of the acts of terror and those who used weapons against the police forces would undoubtedly face justice in accordance with the judicial law of the Islamic Republic.

During the Saturday meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry official also strongly rejected London's baseless allegations about the export of Iranian-made drones to Russia.

He told the British ambassador that the dispatch of lethal weapons by Britain and its allies has prolonged the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which can be solved through political channels.

The British ambassador, for his part, expressed regret over the incident, adding that he will convey Iran’s protest to his respective country.

Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward claimed on Friday that Russia is attempting to obtain more weapons from Iran, including hundreds of ballistic missiles, and offering Tehran an unprecedented level of military and technical support in return.

ME