At the UN, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi Britain would not tolerate hostile activity on UK soil. The Foreign Office said he reiterated Britain’s resolve to counter Iran-linked threats, including attacks on British Jews.
The Foreign Office said Miliband called for Lindsay and Craig Foreman’s immediate release and said their welfare remained a priority. The East Sussex couple have been held for more than 20 months after being arrested while passing through Iran on a motorcycle journey; each was sentenced in February to 10 years in prison on espionage charges they deny.
His warning followed the March arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green. The BBC says intelligence chiefs initially kept an open mind on Iranian involvement, but later concluded secret intelligence pointed to Iran or its proxies’ involvement in the attack. The Foreign Office said the ministers discussed the war: February US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader; Iran retaliated and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass. Miliband urged de-escalation and diplomacy and called for the strait to reopen. Araghchi made no immediate comment.
