Iran mulls over cutting, reducing UK ties

A senior Iranian lawmaker said Saturday that the plan to cut relations with London has been postponed as the Intelligence and Foreign Ministries iron out its details.

Hossein Sobhani-Niya, a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki are to meet and discuss the bill, which is being readied by lawmakers.

Iran accuses the UK of instigating violence and threatening the national security of the country following the presidential election in June, as well as supporting anti-Iran terrorist groups.

The country’s lawmakers, thus, have moved to reduce diplomatic relations with London — a move which has been criticized by the British ambassador to Tehran, Simon Gass.

According to the lawmaker, the top Majlis security commission has discussed the areas in which relations can be reduced as well as the plan to cut ties altogether, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.

However, there seems to be disagreement over cutting the ties among Iranian officials.

“Deputies in the Foreign Ministry and the Intelligence Ministry by some means hold the same views on reducing the ties,” Sobhani-Niya said. “But they have different takes on cutting the ties.”