Sat 19 November 2022:
In a speech to leaders in Bahrain on Saturday, the British foreign minister condemned Iran for “spreading bloodshed” and vowed to cooperate with partners to confront Tehran.
Iran has been charged by Ukraine and its Western allies with providing drones to Russia, which they claim Moscow has been using in recent weeks to assault Ukrainian territory.
Earlier this month, Tehran admitted it had sent drones, but insisted they were supplied before Russia’s invasion.
“Iranian-supplied weapons threaten the entire region,” British foreign secretary James Cleverly told the annual Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.
“The regime has resorted to selling Russia the armed drones that are killing civilians in Ukraine”.
Cleverly spoke a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also warned in Bahrain that Iran’s “weapons proliferation” is a threat to Europe.
The growing criticism comes as Iran grapples with mass protests — the biggest in years — following the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran’s notorious morality police for an alleged breach of its strict dress code for women.
“As their people demonstrate against decades of oppression, Iran’s rulers are spreading bloodshed and destruction across the region and as far away as Kyiv”, Cleverly said.
“Britain is determined to work alongside our friends to counter the Iranian threat“.
On Monday, the EU hit more than 30 senior Iranian officials and organisations with sanctions over Tehran’s crackdown on protesters and the supply of drones to Russia.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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