Britain\u2019s foreign minister on Saturday hit out at Iran for \u201cspreading bloodshed\u201d and vowed to work with allies to counter Tehran as he addressed leaders in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones that they say Moscow has used in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Tehran admitted it had sent drones but insisted they were supplied before Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIranian-supplied weapons threaten the entire region,\u201d British foreign secretary James Cleverly told the annual Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regime has resorted to selling Russia the armed drones that are killing civilians in Ukraine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Cleverly spoke a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also warned in Bahrain that Iran\u2019s \u201cweapons proliferation\u201d is a threat to Europe.<\/p>\n
The growing criticism comes as Iran grapples with mass protests \u2014 the biggest in years \u2014 following the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran\u2019s notorious morality police for an alleged breach of its strict dress code for women.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs their people demonstrate against decades of oppression, Iran\u2019s rulers are spreading bloodshed and destruction across the region and as far away as Kyiv\u201d, Cleverly said.<\/p>\n
He further said, \u201cBritain is determined to work alongside our friends to counter the Iranian threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, the EU hit more than 30 senior Iranian officials and organisations with sanctions over Tehran\u2019s crackdown on protesters and the supply of drones to Russia.<\/p>\n
In his address, Cleverly also slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin for threatening global security.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo country is immune from the turmoil he has brought to world markets or the damage he has caused to global food security\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
The British secretary added, \u201cPutin\u2019s war is inflicting yet more suffering on Syrians and Yemenis \u2014 who were already enduring the privations of humanitarian emergency \u2014 and ordinary Lebanese caught up in economic crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Britain\u2019s foreign minister on Saturday hit out at Iran for \u201cspreading bloodshed\u201d and vowed to work with allies to counter Tehran as he addressed leaders in Bahrain. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones that they say Moscow has used in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-296166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n