Ed Miliband has come under fire after he posed for a photo with an Iranian regime minister during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly.
The Foreign Secretary met his Iranian counterpart, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, in New York yesterday, where the pair were photographed shaking hands.
Shadow Foreign Office Secretary Tom Tugendhat heavily criticised Mr Miliband’s meeting, describing the photo as “legitimising a regime that has often tried to harm our people.”
He said: “The Iranian regime has done nothing to justify any senior British minister meeting their envoys.
“They are murdering protesters, threatening our allies and arming terror groups, including the Houthis.
“As well as threatening communities in the UK. Shaking hands gives them a credibility they have failed to achieve through violence.
“This is just grandstanding. Iran’s civilian government isn’t even in charge. Today, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is running the country.
“Our foreign policy should be about protecting Britain’s interests, not legitimising a regime that has often tried to harm our people, fund terror groups, and destroy the freedoms that keep us safe.
“Our government fundamentally misunderstands the challenges we face, using old tactics to fight new threats.
“Our enemies are organising, so we need to show strength and unity with our allies.”
The Foreign Secretary met his Iranian counterpart, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, in New York yesterday, where the pair were photographed shaking hands
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POOLMeanwhile, Shadow Foreign Office minister Alicia Kearns added in a post on X: “How dare Miliband shake Araghchi’s hand. He owes Parliament, British Jews, and the Foreman family an explanation and an apology.
“A propaganda win for Tehran, that’s what Miliband has given Iran. This is not an ally who’s misbehaving, so you make a stern face while shaking their hand.”
The meeting came as world leaders and senior officials gathered in New York for the 81st UN General Assembly.
The UK Foreign Office said Mr Miliband used the meeting to warn Araghchi that Britain would not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on British soil from groups linked to Iran.
The Foreign Office said the discussions also covered the war in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The department said Mr Miliband urged Araghchi to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation in the Middle East, rather than allow the conflict to continue.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said any agreement to end the confrontation would need to include the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian vessels using the strait.
Pezeshkian also rejected a warning from US President Donald Trump that the Islamic Republic could be “annihilated” if an agreement was not reached. He insisted that Iran would not surrender under pressure.
Members of the US delegation furiously stormed out of a UN meeting during the Iranian President’s speech
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GB NEWS
“The resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying,” he told the assembly.
The US delegation left the chamber at the beginning of Pezeshkian’s speech and had not immediately responded to his remarks.
Another key issue raised during Miliband’s meeting with Araghchi was the detention of British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman.
The couple, from East Sussex, have been held in Iran for more than 20 months.
They were arrested while travelling through the country on motorcycles, and were later convicted of espionage offences.
Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison in February. The couple deny the allegations.
The Foreign Office said Miliband again called for their immediate release, and made clear that their safety and wellbeing remained a priority for the British government.
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