Miliband tells Araghchi UK will not tolerate Iran-linked 'hostile activity'

BBC reports British intelligence linked Iran to Golders Green ambulance arson

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband met Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi face-to-face on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday and told him that Britain will not tolerate “intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil,” the Foreign Office said. Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the two men “discussed bilateral ties and international developments during their talks”; Araghchi had no immediate public comment.

The Foreign Office said Miliband raised “the UK’s unwavering resolve to combat threats from Iranian-linked groups on UK soil, including attacks on the British Jewish community,” and discussed the Middle East war and the case of a British couple detained in Iran. The BBC, in its own reporting, said British intelligence chiefs initially kept an open mind about whether the Iranian state or organizations working for it had a role in attacks on Jewish communities during 2026, but later concluded that secret intelligence pointed to Iran or its proxies being involved in the Hatzola ambulance attack.

Miliband’s comments followed the March arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green and other incidents through the year. In July, a small power plant in the UK was shut down because of a cyberattack that the Telegraph reported was carried out by hackers affiliated to the Iranian regime.

On the Middle East war, the Foreign Office said Miliband told Araghchi that Iran should choose “de-escalation and diplomacy instead of prolonging the war” and stressed the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has been effectively closed since Iran moved to choke it off in February.

In that month, the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader. Iran responded by launching strikes on Israel and on neighboring Gulf Arab states that host US military bases, and moved to effectively close the strait, disrupting the global economy.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that any deal would have to include an end to the US blockade stopping Iranian ships from using the waterway. Responding to US President Donald Trump’s threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon, Pezeshkian said his country will never “bend the knee.”

“The resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying,” Pezeshkian said. The BBC reported there was no immediate comment from the United States, whose delegation walked out of the chamber at the start of Pezeshkian’s address.

Miliband also used Thursday’s meeting to raise the case of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple from East Sussex who have been detained in Iran for more than 20 months after being arrested while passing through the country on a motorcycle journey. In February, each was sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they deny. The Foreign Office said Miliband reiterated the call for the couple to be immediately released and stressed that their welfare remains a priority for the British government.