Arabic version: ميليباند يحذّر إيران بشأن تهديدات لأمن المملكة المتحدة

According to BBC News, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that the UK would not tolerate “intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil” during a face-to-face meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York City.

The Foreign Office said Miliband raised the UK’s resolve to combat threats from Iranian-linked groups, including attacks on the British Jewish community. His comments followed an arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green in March and other incidents. The BBC understands intelligence chiefs later concluded secret intelligence indicated Iran or its proxies were involved in the ambulance attack.

Miliband also discussed Iran’s war with the US, urging Araghchi to choose “de-escalation and diplomacy instead of prolonging the war”. He stressed the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. A fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass through the waterway.

The Foreign Office said the foreign secretary also raised the detention of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple from East Sussex held in Iran for more than 20 months. They were arrested while travelling through the country on a motorcycle journey and were each sentenced to 10 years in February on espionage charges they deny. Miliband reiterated the call for their immediate release, the Foreign Office said.

There was no immediate comment from Araghchi. Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the ministers discussed bilateral ties and international developments.