Foreign ministers from 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Germany, have condemned Iran over alleged violent attacks, sabotage, cyber-attacks and other hostile activities targeting their countries and partners.
The ministers, in a joint statement published by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday, also expressed support for Britain’s attribution of Iran’s involvement in an incident at the Royal Air Force Fairford base on September 27.
The statement said the UK had concluded that the incident demonstrated the continued willingness of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to project hostile activities beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors.
“We recognise the United Kingdom’s attribution of Iran’s involvement in the incident at RAF Fairford on 27 September,” the ministers said.
“The UK has also concluded this event demonstrates the IRGC’s continued willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors.”
The joint statement comes amid concerns over what the ministers described as a recent campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists and United States interests.
According to the statement, the attacks were claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, also known as HAYI.
The ministers condemned what they described as Iran’s use of violent attacks, including lethal plotting, arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks and other forms of hybrid activity against their countries and partners.
They warned that attempts to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce people within their territories through proxies or other means would not be tolerated.
“Anyone who conducts hostile activities on behalf of Iran, or any other state, should know that we will take action to identify, investigate, disrupt, and prosecute these acts,” the statement said.
The countries also pledged to strengthen international coordination, bolster national resilience, protect their communities and ensure that those responsible for hostile activities were held accountable.
“Iran should be in no doubt that we are united and remain committed to safeguarding our sovereignty and strengthening our international coordination, bolstering our national resilience, protecting our communities, and ensuring that those responsible are held to account,” the ministers said.
The joint statement was issued by foreign ministers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
PUNCH Online had reported an incident linked to a possible explosion at the base in September.
Days after, a UK probe into a suspected bomb plot at an airbase used by the United States was mired in confusion, after the media reported no explosives were detected in vehicles seized nearby. https://punchng.com/mystery-over-uk-airbase-scare-after-reports-of-no-explosives-found/?amp
As armed guards maintained a cordon around a nearby village, Washington questioned the decision to release on bail five men arrested near the Royal Air Force Fairford base in Southwest England.
Three white vans were discovered near the base on Sunday and the men, all London-based Britons in their mid-20s, were detained.
Armed police were also visible on Tuesday, September 29, patrolling around the airfield used by US planes to bomb some targets in Iran.