Handshake With Araghchi Causes Trouble for UK Foreign Secretary / Controversy in London Over Claim of Attack Plan on RAF Fairford

Ed Miliband, UK foreign secretary, has faced political pressure for shaking hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband has faced political pressure due to shaking hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the meeting took place on September 24, three days before what was described as an alleged terrorist plot to target the British Royal Air Force base in Fairford.

According to Middle East News, quoted by the Telegraph newspaper, Tom Tugendhat, the foreign minister of the British shadow government, asked Miliband to explain what information he had during the meeting.

In a letter to the British Foreign Minister, he wrote that the country needs an urgent explanation about the British government's assessment of the threats posed by Iran.

He added that any change in Britain's relations with a country that has killed a large number of its citizens and tried to kill British citizens also needs an explanation. Likewise, the foreign minister's decision to meet and shake hands with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, should be explained.

Tugendhat then raised a series of questions. including whether he can confirm that Israel has provided London with information about Iranian threats against the Fairford base or other possible targets in Britain.

He added: If such information was provided, was this information available to you and the prime minister? Were you aware of the existence of this information before meeting with Mr. Araghchi?

Britain's shadow foreign secretary also asked Miliband to make public any advice or consultation he received before agreeing to shake hands with Araghchi.

In this context, he pointed out that the British Foreign Ministry has always had a policy based on refraining from publicly shaking hands with Iranian officials or taking joint photos with them, and this policy was followed with the aim of preventing Tehran from using such images to induce political legitimacy inside Iran.

The questions come as counter-terrorism police investigate whether Iran was behind an alleged attempt to target Fairford Air Force Base. In this connection, five British youths were arrested and then released on bail. After that, a British-Iranian citizen was arrested in connection with this investigation, and he was also released on bail.