Supreme Leader’s aide slams UK ‘dereliction of duty’ over Embassy attack

A senior Iranian official has lashed out at the British government for failing to fulfill its duty to protect the Iranian Embassy in the UK following an attack on the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic mission in London.

“Certainly, the British government is responsible for maintaining security for political missions in this country, including Iran’s Embassy in London,” Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Ummah Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, told reporters in Tehran on Saturday.

He added that the British government had fallen short of carrying out its responsibility to prevent a number foreign agents from carrying out the assault.

It is not unlikely that the attackers had had links with certain movements in Britain, he said.

Velayati emphasized that the UK government must be held accountable for its failure to prevent the attack on the Iranian Embassy.

A number of attackers scaled the wall of Iran’s Embassy building in London on Friday and took down the Iranian flag.

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that British police carried out no measure to protect the compound during the attack.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Friday strongly condemned the attack on the Islamic Republic’s embassy in London, urging swift action to counter the attackers.

Immediately after receiving news of the assault, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi voiced Tehran’s strong protest to the British ambassador to Tehran, he added.

UK must assure inviolability of Iran Embassy: Envoy

In a post on his official Twitter account on Saturday, Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad said the assailants represented an “extremist Shia community.”

“They have a sectarian interpretation of Shia and insist on insulting the grand Sunni leaders,” the Iranian envoy said.

He, however, emphasized that the British government “has an unwavering commitment to assure the inviolability of the Embassy.”

UK must take full responsibility for embassy attack: Iran MP

Also, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday that all the responsibility for ensuring the safety of Iran’s Embassy in London or anywhere else fell on the government of the country hosting the mission.

“Therefore, the British government must take full responsibility for the attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy and fulfill its responsibilities,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi added.

He emphasized that the assault could not have happened without the approval or deliberate oversight of the British security guards and police.

The Iranian legislator said the attack was nothing but a stunt and an act of propaganda.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday announced that the attackers, who had climbed on the balcony of the Iranian Embassy in London, were arrested.

Qassemi called for the trial and punishment of the perpetrators of the assault.