Following Iran’s execution of Alireza Akbari for espionage, London on Saturday imposed sanctions on Iran’s attorney general and “temporarily” recalled its ambassador previously appointed by Tehran.
The head of British diplomacy, James Cleverly, announced on Saturday night the “temporary” recall of his ambassador to Iran after an Iranian-British suspect was accused of spying for British intelligence in the Asian country. The diplomat, Simon Shercliff, was summoned by the Iranian authorities earlier in the day.
London earlier this afternoon denounced a “barbaric act” that “will not go unanswered” and also announced that it had imposed sanctions on Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri to underline his “disgust”.
“It is important to stress that our response will not be limited to the actions I mentioned today. I will now decide how to proceed after consultation with Government officials,” said James Cleverly.
“We hold the (Iranian) regime accountable for its appalling human rights abuses,” it said on the day.
A “Malicious Support”
For its part, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that “the British government must be held responsible for establishing unconventional contacts” that constituted “an attack on the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
For the ministry, London provided “malicious support” for Alireza Akbari, 61, a former senior Iranian defense official who was hanged after being sentenced to death for “undermining the country’s internal and external security,” according to Iran’s agency Justice Authority Mizan Online.
Relations between Tehran and London have been strained in recent years by the arrests of several dual nationals. Iran states that it does not recognize the dual citizenship of its nationals.