Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2020 Press Release on Summoning Iran’s Ambassador

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 13/01/2020.

The Minister for the Middle East, Dr Andrew Murrison summoned Iranian Ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad to the Foreign Office today. The Minister conveyed the UK’s strong objections to the arrest of our Ambassador Rob Macaire in Tehran this weekend.

Dr Murrison requested assurances for the safety of British Embassy staff in Iran and that such a violation of international law will not happen again.

The UK is working very hard to maintain dialogue as the best route to resolve differences between our countries.

Following the meeting Dr Murrison said:

“The arrest of our Ambassador to Iran was a flagrant violation of international law and it is important that Iran understands how seriously we take this matter. It must not be allowed to happen again; I made that clear to the Iranian Ambassador this afternoon.

We reiterate the importance of a full and transparent investigation into Ukraine International Airlines flight 752. The loss of life in the crash was a tragedy and we express our condolences to the people of Iran as they grieve those who died.”