Summoning of the British Ambassador in Tehran in Protest Against Theresa May's Remarks

Simultaneously with the protest of the First Vice President of Iran against the remarks of the British Prime Minister at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, the British Ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Islamic Republic's "strong protest" against Theresa May's statements was conveyed to him. According to the state news agency IRNA, Nicholas Hopton, the British Ambassador in Tehran, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday, December 20, and the Iranian government's "strong protest" regarding the Prime Minister's remarks was communicated to him. According to Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, the Deputy Director General for Western Europe at the ministry stated during the meeting with the British ambassador that Theresa May's "irresponsible, provocative, and divisive statements" are "unacceptable and rejected" by the Islamic Republic, and "we strongly expect not to witness such statements again." The report also indicated that Nicholas Hopton was informed that these actions "contradict the declared development of relations and increasingly damage the relations between the two countries." According to Mr. Qasemi, during this meeting, it was emphasized that the Islamic Republic's regional policy is based on "establishing peace, stability, and security with a focus on combating terrorism," and it was noted that "the policy of some regional countries in supporting terrorism is clear, and this reality has been overlooked by the officials and the Prime Minister of Britain, which is very regrettable and surprising." Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, had stated on Wednesday, December 17, to the Gulf Cooperation Council that Britain would help these countries stand against "Iran's aggressive actions in the region." On the same day, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry criticized these remarks as "ill-considered," stating that the Prime Minister of Britain made these comments to "please" some leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states. In this context, Isaac Jahangiri, the First Vice President, said on Saturday that "the British Prime Minister is invited to an Arab country on the Gulf's periphery to speak against Iran; such actions are humiliating for those countries." According to IRNA, Mr. Jahangiri considered Iran to be the great country of the region and asked, "Can you confront Iran with such remarks?" Earlier on Friday, Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, threatened that Britain "should not do anything that would cause the Parliament to once again reduce the level of relations to a chargé d'affaires." Relations between the two countries, which were downgraded to the level of chargé d'affaires in 2011 after an attack by a group of "Basij students" on the British diplomatic mission in Tehran, returned to ambassadorial level after the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers was reached. This attack occurred just one day after the passing of a resolution in the then Parliament that mandated the Iranian Foreign Ministry to reduce the level of political relations with Britain. Relations between Iran and some Arab countries on the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia, which had cooled due to conflicts in Syria and Yemen, worsened after attacks on Saudi diplomatic sites in Tehran and Mashhad, while some analysts describe the conflicts in Syria and Yemen as a "proxy war" between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In this context, Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, on Thursday, December 18, criticized both Saudi Arabia and Iran for engaging in a "proxy war" in the Middle East and lamented the lack of "strong leadership" in these countries. However, the British Prime Minister's office stated that Boris Johnson's views on Saudi Arabia do not reflect London's position on the country.