Iran says it summoned British diplomat over arrest of nationals
Move comes after three Iranians charged in UK with aiding foreign spy agency, four arrested over alleged terror plot
Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the British charge d’affaires in Tehran over the arrest of Iranian nationals and what it said were “false claims” leveled by Britain against the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Monday.
Earlier this month, British police arrested seven Iranian nationals in two separate operations, with three men charged last week with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, in this case Iran.
The three men were remanded in custody and will appear at a preliminary judicial hearing on June 6, while the other four men, who were suspected of plotting to target specific premises, according to British Police, have been released from custody but still face an investigation.
“The responsibility for the inappropriate effects of such actions, which appear to be motivated by political motives to exert pressure on Iran, will lie with the British government,” state media quoted an Iranian foreign ministry official as saying.
Britain’s charge d’affaires was summoned on Sunday and requested to provide an official explanation regarding the reasons and legal bases for the arrest of Iranian citizens.
“We’ve observed a growing threat, and the police have clearly connected these charges to Iran,” said UK Minister for State of Security Dan Jarvis on Saturday, describing Iran’s actions as “hostile” and “completely unacceptable.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi previously said he was “disturbed” to learn that Iranian citizens had been arrested by British authorities.
The three men charged were accused of targeting Britain-based journalists connected with Iran International, a broadcaster critical of the Iranian government.
One was also charged with surveillance and intending to commit serious violence against a person in Britain, while the other two were charged with surveillance and the intention that serious violent acts would be committed by others.
The men arrived by irregular means, the government said, including via small boats across the English Channel between 2016 and 2022.
The British government has placed Iran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register, requiring Tehran to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK.
The head of MI5 domestic spy agency, Ken McCallum, said last year that since 2022, officers have responded to 20 Iran-backed plots that posed lethal threats to British citizens and residents.
The Times of Israel Community.