Britain's Foreign Office said Friday it has asked Iran's ambassador in London to attend a meeting to explain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments about UK policy. During Friday prayers at Tehran University, Khamenei accused the United States, Britain and what he called Iran's other enemies for fomenting unrest.
He said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union. Britain is one of the six nations involved in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The West accuses Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. The Foreign Office said the Iranian ambassador will hold talks with political director Mark Lyall Grant later on Friday.
``We will make clear our concern about the comments,' a Foreign Office spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with policy. Diplomats in Britain and the US say they have carefully measured their comments on the election and subsequent protests in recent days, mindful of Iran's accusation that they intrude unfairly in the country's affairs.
``We want Iran to be part of the international community and not to be isolated,' British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday, at a European Union summit in Brussels. ``We are not asking the Iranian people that other countries should choose who they elect. We wish to protect the right of the Iranian people to elect who they wish.' Britain's ambassador to Iran has twice been called to meetings with officials in Tehran in recent days, on one occasion to receive a complaint about coverage of the country's election by Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC.
Comments
Comments are closed.