UK Urges Iran To Prevent Escalation Of Israel-Hamas Conflict
British foreign minister James Cleverly has urged Iran to use its influence with groups in the Middle East to prevent an escalation of Israel's conflict with Hamas.
British foreign minister James Cleverly has urged Iran to use its influence with groups in the Middle East to prevent an escalation of Israel's conflict with Hamas.
Britain's Foreign Office said Cleverly spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday, telling him "Iran bore responsibility" for the actions of groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, that it has supported for many years.
However, the Iranian foreign minister presented a different account of the conversation, emphasizing that he told his British counterpart that the United States cannot guarantee Israel’s victory in the ongoing Gaza war, and “it can be held responsible for spreading the flames of war that will rebound on itself.”
The Iranian regime celebrated the October 7 terror attack by Hamas and has boasted of the power of its proxy forces in the region for confronting Israel.
Cleverly also reiterated that Iranian-backed threats against people in the United Kingdom were unacceptable and must stop, a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
An investigation by The Times of London has revealed more than six UK-based groups with ties to the Iranian regime and active in pro-Hamas rallies.
It comes amid rising fears that the Iranian regime’s influence on UK soil is deepening, as seen in the weekly pro-Palestine / pro-Hamas protests which have been shown to be fuelled by Tehran-linked groups.
Last year, threats against Iran International journalist resulted in the television network temporarily relocation its broadcast operations to Washington DC.
Britain has supported Israel's right to defend itself after an Oct. 7 attack by militant group Hamas that Israel said had killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and saw over 200 others kidnapped.
With reporting by Reuters
On November 4, 1979, pro-Khomeini Islamist and leftist students occupied the US embassy and took hostage more than 50 US diplomats for 444 days.
In their sermons, Iran's Friday Imams generally blamed the United States for the war in Gaza ignoring the fact that it was Hamas that launched the October 7 terror attack on Israel and the United States has reacted by expressing support for Israel.
In Qom, home of the country's largest Shiite seminary, Friday Imam Mohammad Saeedi claimed that "Iran has struck a hard blow against the United States with its Death to America slogan." Saeedi added: "This is not simply a slogan. It is a revolutionary strategy."
Pointing out that the Friday prayers came one day before the anniversary of the seizure of US embassy in Tehran, Saeedi said, "The takeover of the US spy den was a manifestation of this strategy."
The cleric echoed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's criticism of the United States for supporting Israel.
In Karaj, near Tehran, Friday Imam Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini said, "The Death to America slogan ensures the Islamic Republic's authority. If it is taken away from us, we will lose our international influence." He added: "This slogan has created a strategic link between Iran and other countries and created a large front."
Hosseini further threatened, "If the Supreme Leader allows us, we will create a storm in the region." He claimed that the confrontation during the past 40 years between Iran on the one hand, and Israel and the United States on the other is an outcome of the Islamic Republic of Iran's influence, power and strategic depth.
He stated that the current war in Gaza is not about Israel and Palestinians, it is a war between what is right and what is wrong.
The Friday Imam of Isfahan, Mojtaba Miordamadi expressed hope in his sermon that "The United States will be destroyed soon." He also included Israel in his hate speech saying, "I hope the America and criminal Israel are going to be destroyed soon, and God gives us the good news about the annihilation of the Zionist regime."
Referring to Khamenei's statement on Thursday that "Israel would have not been able to resist against Palestinians for even one week if it weren't for the US military support," Mirdamadi said, "Israel has been weakened and its death is approaching despite the arrogant world's support."
In Mashhad, firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda said the United States is so unclean that it is “not to be touched” and added, "The United States is the filthiest point in the world. It is hated by the whole world and no one sees any value in it."
Alamolhoda added, "None of the Islamic governments in the region dares to normalize their ties with America anymore." In one of his most elaborate anti-Semitic comments, he claimed that "Jewish people do not believe in God's power." He further stated, "It is part of Israel and the United States' philosophy that human beings should only think of their own desires." He added, "Zionism inspired United States imperialism and its world-devouring nature."
Alamolhoda utterly distorted Iran's modern history, saying, "It was the United States that sent Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, into exile in 1964." He continued his fabricated version of history by claiming, "The United States attacked Iranian students with machine guns on November 4, 1979, and then fled Iran." Iranian "students" on that date occupied the US Embassy in Tehran and took 54 US diplomats hostage for 444 days while calling on the US not to offer medical treatment to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was in a New York hospital with terminal cancer.
He further threatened that the United States should be held accountable for Israel's violence in Gaza.
However, the anti-US rhetoric in Iran ahead of the anniversary of the occupation of the US Embassy was not limited to clerics. Hossein Salami, the commander of the revolutionary guards (IRGC) also spoke against the US during a meeting with clerics and Basij militia and said: "The world is more united than ever against America and its policies."
