LONDON: The UK and France condemned on Friday Iran’s violent repression of legitimate peaceful protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Amini, who had been arrested by the morality police, died on Sep. 16 while in custody.
During talks held in Paris, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also condemned Tehran for supplying Russia with drones used to indiscriminately target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
They denounced Iran’s destabilizing activities in and around the Middle East, including transfers of unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles, and pledged to reinforce international cooperation to counter such activities.
The ministers reiterated their clear determination that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon and their deep concerns at its insufficient cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The UK also accused Iran of threatening the lives of UK-based journalists on Friday, after a crackdown that rights groups say has left more than 300 anti-regime protesters dead in Iran itself.
“I have summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires today after journalists working in the UK were subject to immediate threats to life from Iran,” Cleverly said.
