Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned the British charge d’affaires to protest “suspicious and unjustified” arrests of several Iranians in Britain on “false” charges and “unrealistic” accusations against Tehran.
In the absence of the British ambassador, the British envoy was summoned by Shahram Ghazi-Zadeh, director of the Third Western Europe Department of the foreign ministry.
This was after the British police on Saturday said they had charged three Iranians, arrested earlier, with “suspected espionage for Iran’s intelligence services” between August 2024 and February 2025.
The Iranian diplomat called on the British government to clarify the reasons and legal bases for detaining the Iranian nationals, voicing Tehran’s strong protest against the move and what it described as “unrealistic” accusations against Iran.
He underlined Iran’s “principled and responsible” commitment to respecting the rules and regulations of other countries, stressing that the arrest of Iranian nationals without presenting evidence and deliberate delay in notifying the Iranian embassy in London.
He also noted the denial of consular access and support all violated established norms of international law and human rights.
Ghazi-Zadeh urged the British government to adhere to its obligations under relevant international treaties, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
He warned that Britain would be held responsible for the consequences of such inappropriate actions, which he said appeared politically motivated and aimed at pressuring Iran.
The British police said in a statement on Saturday that the three men identified as Mostafa Sepahvand, Farhad Javadi Manesh, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori had been charged under the National Security Act following a major counterterrorism investigation.
Earlier this month, London’s Metropolitan Police announced the arrests of five Iranian nationals over an alleged plot to target “specific premises,” without disclosing the intended location. (Xinhua/NAN)
