No Bright Future in Iran-UK Relations

This week, Tehran’s detention of nine UK Embassy staff based on allegations of fomenting mass public protests was on top of world news. On Monday, Hasan Qashqavi, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, pointed to a phone contact between British FM David Miliband and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki in which Miliband has assured Iran that Britain does not intend to intervene in Iran’s domestic affairs. Qashqavi also reported that five detainees have been released, while others are kept up of further investigations. Mahdi Fakheri, European affairs expert comments on the future of Iran-UK relations:

Our relations with the United Kingdom have always undergone ups and downs; however, we can say that things have returned to a calm situation. Although there have been rumors around on Britain’s role in Iran mass demonstrations, but we can not deny our need for relations with Britain in the long run.

Britain is an influential factor in Iran-Europe relations and since it is a major European and global actor, every rise and fall in London-Tehran relations can affect Iran’s ties with other countries. This would start from financial and political areas, and with the atmosphere against Iran, the global community would rethink its ties with our country. Therefore, it seems that Iran should be more foresighted these days, consider the consequences of going on and off in its relations and weigh the gain and loss.

Britain, as a member of the European Union, is trying to convince the collective force of this 27-strong alliance to pressurize Iran over the detention of its local employees. Meanwhile, it seems that Britain is willing to institutionalize this policy (collective stance) for similar cases. Hence, it seems that EU’s stance will be tilting towards Britain’s demands. Unlike Iran’s nuclear program, in which difference among European countries were noticeable, there are not any disagreements between EU members over the detention of British Embassy employees. With Europeans moving towards a unanimous stance towards Iran, the future does not appear so bright.