Miliband warns Iran over threats during UN meeting

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, September 24, and warned that the UK would not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on British soil, according to a Foreign Office account of the meeting. The department said Miliband raised concerns about threats from groups linked to Iran, including against the British Jewish community, and outlined measures the government had taken in response. It did not provide details of Araghchi’s response. Iran’s state news agency said the ministers discussed bilateral ties and international developments, without giving a fuller account of the exchange. Miliband also raised the detention of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran on espionage charges, which they deny. The Foreign Office said he called for their immediate release and stressed that their welfare remained a priority for the UK government. The couple, from East Sussex, were arrested while travelling through Iran on a motorcycle journey.