UK summons Iranian ambassador over embassy’s ‘unacceptable’ comments on social media

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FILE PHOTO: United Kingdom's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Hamish Falconer addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, U.S., January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer has urged the Iranian embassy to "cease any form of communications that could be interpreted as encouraging violence".

PHOTO: REUTERS

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LONDON - Britain said on April 28 the Iranian ambassador to London had been summoned over what the government described as the Iranian embassy's "unacceptable and inflammatory" comments on social media.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, made clear that the embassy "must cease any form of communications that could be interpreted as encouraging violence in the UK or internationally", the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Iranian officials in Tehran could not be immediately reached for comment on Britain's move.

A statement posted by the Iranian embassy on its Telegram channel earlier in April called on Iranians in Britain to volunteer for a campaign to declare their willingness to sacrifice their lives in a war in defence of their country.

The British government did not specify which of the embassy's social media comments it was referring to. British lawmakers have warned of significant and wide-ranging threats posed by Iran to Britain.

The government also summoned the Iranian ambassador in March after an Iranian national and a British-Iranian dual national were charged on suspicion of helping Iran's intelligence services. REUTERS

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