The announcement by the head of Iran’s guardian council that locally employed British embassy staff in Tehran are to be put on trial plunges UK-Iran relations to a level possibly even lower than when British sailors were captured and accused of infringing Iranian territorial waters back in 2007.
Back then President Ahmadinejad let the sailors go with a pardon, despite their on-camera “confessions”, apparently obtained under duress.
But this is very different. Not only are the two accused Iranian nationals, but the notion that Britain is the hidden hand behind Iran’s current political turmoil comes from Iran’s supreme leader himself, in a speech on 19 June.
In other words, these embassy employees, unidentified but probably junior translators in the embassy press section, are in a great deal of trouble because their discomfort may well be part of official policy to convince ordinary Iranians that their woes are all Britain’s fault.
False, flawed or forced confessions are deeply rooted in the Iranian political system. These confessions are now being used as part of the regime’s cover story for the past few weeks of internal unrest, and as such they are unlikely to be overturned.
We may now be very close to the point when Britain feels it has no choice but to recall its ambassador. For now, London is holding off, seeking “clarification” from Tehran which it is very unlikely to receive on a Friday, the beginning of Iran’s weekend.
David Miliband says he spoke to his Iranian counterpart a few days ago. Whether he can get through to him today may not matter much anyway, given Mr Mottaki’s questionable authority within the regime’s complex hierarchy – and the time it takes for Iran’s Foreign Ministry to get the rest of the regime’s attention, from the clerics on down.
And there are still question marks over whether the rest of the EU is prepared to recall its envoys too, in response to British calls for a “robust” response.
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strange, isn’t it. here we are, a country fond of law and legal procedure, yet, when Iran states that the two embassy staff will face trial, “we” don’t like it.
So, are we to believe absolutely everything that is said by Iran is a lie, false flawed?
A more simple question is, was the UK behind the turmoil?
It’s just that so many lies are told, it’s hard to know who to believe & who’s the worst.
well, the first comment didn’t show, so I’ll try once more.
strange that the UK, a country so fond of law and legal procedure, should object so strenuously when Iran announces that two embassy staff are to be tried in a court of law. somewhat embarrassing too.
JR – join the real world! Do you really believe that to express an independent view, political or religious, would stand a chance of a fair trial in Iran. An Islamic Court is vastly different from a court of law in the UK. At least in the UK the press would independently report from it’s varying political persuasions its opinions, without fear of a clampdown or arrests or torture in Evin Prison – the most notorios in Iran. JR don’t be so blind to the poor, offended dictators of the Islamic Dictatorship (they call it a republic – what an insult to the word “republic”). The UK Government, with all its faults, does not control the Press and that is what has gotten up the nose of the Ayatollah Khamenei or his offspring Ahmadinejad as freedom does for most dictators. Even their days are numbered.
Winstone Perrotton – Tufnell Park, London
Is David Miliband as exercised by the
act of piracy committed by the Israeli navy as by the capture by the Iranians of
2 of their own people (albeit employed by
the UK)
Probably not!
That 21 persons were taken – at gunpoint-
from their small boat when some 60 miles from the coast of Gaza- and
subsequently imprisoned in Israel does
not appear to have caused him concern.
Of the 21, at least 3 are UK citizens -
one being the recipient of the Nobel \Peace prize – Mairad McGuire.
There appears to have been an almost
total news blackout on this troubling
story with the exception of a 2″ article
on Page 27 of the Guardian.
It is accepted that the BBC with its pro
Israeli agenda would not cover it but
surely channel 4 has a mind of its own.
sylvia madden wrote: “..BBC with its pro
Israeli agenda would not cover it..”
I was going to post a link to a BBC article on this (which I read a few days ago, in the Middle-East section) but it has been removed already. telling.
I think that Iran is choosing Britain as a target because they know the US would never tolerate this kind of act of war.
0709 on July 6, Winstone.
“Do you really believe that to express an independent view, political or religious, would stand a chance of a fair trial in Iran.”
as much, or as little, as in this country — seriously; independent thinking isn’t welcomed here either.
“At least in the UK the press would independently report ..”
which parallel universe do you live in??
“JR don’t be so blind to the poor, offended dictators of the Islamic Dictatorship (they call it a republic – what an insult to the word “republic”).”
not blind. offended by a government and a media who want me to believe their thread-bare stories; as to ‘insult’ and ‘republic’ — a bit rich coming from a democrat who (looking into his passport) finds he’s a ’subject’.
“The UK Government, with all its faults, does not control the Press..”
quite right. the press corporations and other interests control the government.
as for Khamenei and Ahmadinejad — whatever their faults, when compared to current western politicians (and church leaders) they appear to have one advantage: integrity.
JR – I don’t know what went wrong yesterday but I did reply to your breakdown of my message to you of 6.7.09. Obviously the censors of the site probably thought I was a bit harsh. Nevertheless I shall repeat my response.
Hitler, Stalin, Franco from the past but Omar al-Bashir – Sudan, Kim Jong-il, North Korea, Sayyid Ali KhamEnei, Iran, Ho Juntao – China, King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia, Than Shwe, Burma – all alive and kicking today would be proud of your defence of Iran’s dictatorship.
You talk disparagingly about the British Press, which you say controls our Government: “foolish, blind foolishness” are the only words I can think of. In the UK I may openly verbally attack the Queen without fear of arrest; I may insult the Prime Minister of this country without fear of MI5 knocking on my door and dragging me away; I may ridicule the Pope of Rome or the Archbishop of Canterbury and no one is going to torture me or execute me for this. That is, in your words, “the parallel universe” I live in. The people of Iran definitely do not.
If the stories reported were “threadbare” -your words again, why interrupt the Internet service, mobile phones and of course the “evil BBC”, which were to keep the ‘Free World’ from seeing and hearing the truth from inside Iran; the “threadbare” false journalism would have dissolved immediately. You’re on a loser mate!
Your love of Iran is highly commendable but again I say don’t be blinded by your patriotism. Integrity is the last word you could possibly use in describing the Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. If they were men of integrity then the society would be an open book and Iran a place where freedom soars like an eagle and people live without fear.
Finally, it might be that you believe God is on your side. Poor old God!
Love to you
Winstone Perrotton – Tufnell Park
1541 on July 8, Winstone.
“..proud of your defence of Iran’s dictatorship.” and “Your love of Iran..”
please do not put words into my mouth. I neither condone nor condemn the leaders of Iran, or any other country; the very concept of the nation state is deeply flawed.
“Integrity is the last word you could possibly use in describing the Khamenei and Ahmadinejad.”
I did qualify this by saying “appear to”; rather like Thatcher, you know what they stand for. the same cannot be said for the current crop of British politicians.
yes, in the UK you may “..verbally attack..” or “..insult..” or “..ridicule..”, provided you do not fall foul of libel/slander legislation. what good does it do? what difference does it make?
re. “threadbare”. propaganda is kind of one-dimensional. crucial information is withheld or misrepresented, as I said above, it offends me.
“..your patriotism.” ?? to quote Samuel Johnson: ‘patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel’.
“..it might be that you believe God is on your side.” LOL. no, belief in the Abrahamic god (or any other gods) is, IMO, tantamount to declaring intellectual bankruptcy.
JR – We obviously are not going to agree but I respond as follows:
You: “please do not put words into my mouth. I neither condone nor condemn the leaders of Iran, or any other country; the very concept of the nation state is deeply flawed.”
Response: I am not putting words in your mouth, I am judging you by what you say and now you are qualifying what you originally said. However you now sound indifferent to the situation by your present stance of “neither … nor”.
You: “I did qualify this by saying “appear to”; rather like Thatcher, you know what they stand for. The same cannot be said for the current crop of British politicians.”
Response: I cannot help feeling how foolish you are and feel terribly condescending towards you. None of the elected political institutions in the UK, except for the BNP, pose a personal threat to any individual citizen holding a “valid” or “invalid” opinion and pray, what precisely do Khamenei and Ahmadinejad stand for.
You: “yes, in the UK you may “..verbally attack..” or “..insult..” or “..ridicule..”, provided you do not fall foul of libel/slander legislation. what good does it do? what difference does it make?”
Response: All the difference in the world, or hadn’t you noticed? Live in a dictatorship and then you will realise how important it is to be able to verbally abuse those who “know what’s good for you” or “how you should think” or “what you should wear” etc. In Iran, one of us would be in dead trouble, and I wonder which of us it would be.
“Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.” “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
- Salman Rushdie
“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
- John F. Kennedy
You: “re. “threadbare”. propaganda is kind of one-dimensional. crucial information is withheld or misrepresented, as I said above, it offends me.”
Response: I really do believe you are hurt by what has happened in Iran and find it extremely difficult to believe the criticism whether or not it comes from outside or inside Iran and throw in words like “threadbare”, which you did not find offensive in your original comment.
You: ““..your patriotism.” ?? to quote Samuel Johnson: ‘patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel’.”
Response: I prefer Edith Cavell before her execution: “But this I would say, standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward any one.
You: “..it might be that you believe God is on your side.” LOL. no, belief in the Abrahamic god (or any other gods) is, IMO, tantamount to declaring intellectual bankruptcy.”
Response: I declare to you that I am intellectually bankrupt and leave you with this from Psalm 14.1
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
Love to you JR and all whom you love. I wish you a good life!
Winstone Perrotton – Tufnell Park
1541 on July 8, Winstone.
“You talk disparagingly about the British Press, which you say controls our Government: “foolish, blind foolishness” are the only words I can think of.”
did you watch BBC2 Newsnight tonight?
sorry mods, this reply is off topic.
0053 on July 9, Winstone.
you: “..proud of your defence of Iran’s dictatorship.” and “Your love of Iran..”
me: “please do not put words into my mouth.”
you: “I am not putting words in your mouth, I am judging you by what you say..”
drivel. please show where I have expressed a “love” for Iran or where I have “defended” the Iranian leadership.
yes, you are judgemental and, I feel, presumptious. quite offensive, that.
end of.
What would be nice is if C4 News would start to care less about the arrest of provocateurs used by our Government against their own and cared a little more about the false imprisonment of our own Nobel Laureates.
I’m of course referring to the incident of piracy, comitted by the Israeli Navy against th ‘Spirit of Humanity’ in International Waters, the following kidnapping and false imprisonment of Gaza 21 members aboard, including former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and a British Nobel Laureate.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/08-07-2009/108016-letterisraelijail-0
http://whatreallyhappened.com/
Yes, the Trial of British Embassy staff is a new low in relations; but, Iran is going to punished the staff for their alleged involvement…
=Dennis Junior=
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