Tehran slams UK foreign secretary’s ‘harsh tweets’, urges London to adopt long overdue change in approach

September 22, 2021. (Photo tweeted by Truss)

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has reacted to “harsh tweets” by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, saying such slogans may fetch headlines but they can never replace lawful verdicts issued by courts, making a reference to the case of Nazanin Zaghari who serves a prison sentence for a number of security offenses. 

Truss wrote in a tweet on Thursday that the UK was “working tirelessly to secure” Zaghari’s release and her return to her family.   

“I pressed Iran yesterday on this and will continue to until she returns home,” she added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh hit back, saying, “Harsh tweets—contrary to IRL tone—may fetch headlines.”

“But slogans can never replace lawful verdicts issued by courts,” he added.

In an earlier tweet on Wednesday, the British foreign secretary said she had pressed two issues during her meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in New York.

“I’m absolutely determined to secure the release of detained British nationals,” she wrote. “And I want to bring Iran back to the table on the nuclear deal and return to Vienna talks.”