Iran summons UK envoy to protest latest sanctions and ‘accusations’

The Iranian Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned the British Ambassador to Tehran, Simon Shercliff, to “strongly” protest against the latest sanctions imposed by the UK on officials in Tehran, the Anadolu news agency reported citing Iranian media outlets.

“Following the continuation of the British regime’s accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Simon Shercliff, the British ambassador in Tehran, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… and was informed of our country’s strong protest,” IRNA state news agency said.

On Monday, the United Kingdom announced that it would sanction seven individuals and one organisation, including senior Iranian officials and “members of organised criminal gangs cooperating with the Iranian regime.”

The British Foreign Office said the sanctions had been imposed in coordination with the United States, according to the statement.

For its part, IRNA reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has informed the British envoy of Iran’s “strong protest against this behaviour” and considered the British sanctions to be “based on false pretexts,” describing the charges as “baseless and strongly condemned,” without giving more details about those accusations.

The UK’s actions, an Iranian Foreign Ministry official who attended the meeting said, are “another series of unconstructive and destructive measures in dealing with Iran,” adding that they are “definitely destined to fail”.

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