Khamenei Speech Angers UK

LONDON — Britain's Foreign Office said Friday it had told an Iranian diplomat it was concerned by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's criticism of Britain, which he called evil.

During Friday prayers at Tehran University, Khamenei accused the United States, Britain and what he called Iran's other enemies of fomenting unrest. He singled out Britain for specific criticism.

"I will tell you the outstanding diplomats of some Western countries who talk to us with diplomatic courtesy up to now during the past few days have taken their masquerade away from their faces and they are showing their true image," he said according to a translation provided by the BBC. "They are displaying their enmity against the Islamic state, and the most evil of them is the British government."

Britain is one of the six nations involved in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The West accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

The Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador for talks, but said that, in the end, a more junior diplomat _ the charge d'affaires, Safar Ali Eslamian Koupaei _ attended a meeting with political director Mark Lyall Grant.

The Foreign Office said it was told the charge d'affaires was attending in the absence of the ambassador.

"We made clear to the Iranian charge that the supreme leader's comments were unacceptable and had no basis in fact," a Foreign Office spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Iran's Embassy in London did not immediately respond to requests asking why the ambassador had not attended the meeting.

Diplomats in Britain and the U.S. say they have been measured in their comments on the recent election and subsequent protests, mindful of Iran's accusation that they intrude unfairly in the country's affairs.

"We want Iran to be part of the international community and not to be isolated," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday at a European Union summit in Brussels. "We are not asking the Iranian people that other countries should choose who they elect. We wish to protect the right of the Iranian people to elect who they wish."

Britain's ambassador to Iran has twice been called to meetings with officials in Tehran in recent days, on one occasion to receive a complaint about coverage of the country's election by Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC.

Comments

[Aleister]

11:03 PM on 06/20/2009

i am old enough to remember when the shah of Iran was overthrown and at the time attended a private school that had Iranian students one day and the next day they were all gone.

this khamenei is a bigger liar then that one.

Lying reveals devotion to Satan in the muslim world so i guess that sums it up.

[mergina]

11:18 AM on 06/20/2009

Well it CERTAINLY ANGERED ME. I'd like to tear his beard out with my bare hands.

[elroyofkrypton]

01:43 PM on 06/19/2009

This is laughable. Iran has been interfering in the politics of Lebanon and Israel for time out of mind. From whom does Hezbollah and Hamas get their principal support? The foreign policy of Iran has been one of manipulation and disruption in the Middle East since the beginnings of the Islamic Republic.

[Doomestic]

02:47 PM on 06/19/2009

Israel occupied southern Lebanon for more than 20 years, committed several massacres, including the massacre of 2006, where Israel systematically killed more than 2000 Lebanese, mostly civilians. Barak threatened the Lebanese people that, if the opposition is elected, it would face the "wrath of the Israeli army". The United States sent Joe biden to threaten the Lebanese people, that if the opposition is elected, it would reconsider all of its policies towards Lebanon. And you dare accuse Iran of interfering with Lebanese politics?

And I hope you don't consider the Palestinian / Israeli conflict "Israeli politics", unless there is some Israeli political party supported by Iran I am not aware of.

[wereeverywhere]

04:11 PM on 06/19/2009

Hezbollah is a thoroughly reactionary gang that Isr.ael is responsible for- it formed to successfully kick Izrl out. Izrl arrogantly and irresponsibly occupied Lebanon and accomplished nothing but radicalizing the south of Lebanon and inflaming sectarian divides within that country. I hope IRI falls like a house of cards and the reform movement wins, but if that miracle happens, it'll be despite what US and Izrea.l have done.

I think Morocco might be more your point of IRI meddling, as that country got p'oed at IRI recently for what it said was interference.

[MarkOfBrooklyn]

01:27 PM on 06/19/2009

Let's not forget the troops already in Iraq who are fighting against Iranian supported insurgents. Iran will stepup the violence in Iraq if we "meddle", and will still crack the skulls of their people.

We must also think about Americans troops in Iraq.

[Doomestic]

02:32 PM on 06/19/2009

Actually, the dirty secret no one in the pentagon is saying is that the vast majority of insurgents are sunni, and are backed by Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, Iran helped tremendously to stablize Iraq to be able to put an Iranian proxy government in power.

[wereeverywhere]

03:50 PM on 06/19/2009

Those responsible for troops being in Iraq are war criminals and the troops need to be brought home ASAP. Their welfare hinges on their exit.

Hopefully, because of 50 plus years of irresponsible, murderou.s meddling, US will have enough sense not to interfere in Iran. It'd be the death knell to the reform movement which dances on a knife's edge right now. Long live a free Iran- free of US imperialism and the mullahs.

[OdysseusNemesis]

01:26 PM on 06/19/2009

>> "We want Iran to be part of the international community and not to be isolated,"

What does this mean? Who defines “International community”? Iran has far many friends and embassies around the world than (say) Israel.

With a rotten House of Commons (a.k.a “Black-Ink”), and consisting of “Expenses fiddlers”; an unelected Prime Minister who wouldn't call election, Gordon Brown has the cheek to even mention election?

[Doomestic]

01:03 PM on 06/19/2009

Anything with the word "Iran" in it will anger the UK. After all, it was Iran that humiliated the British soldiers that trespassed into Iranian waters, only to get the UK to lie about it over and over again claiming it was Iraqi waters. They were paralised, and humiliated. After a year from the incident, it was proven in a report that the waters they were captured in was NOT Iraqi waters, it was Iranian, or at the very least disputed.

That did leave a huge scar on the Labor government's ego.

[stringer]

11:11 AM on 06/19/2009

Good. Way to go Britain!