Iran’s ambassador to London has issued a stern warning to Britain, urging it to avoid deeper entanglement in the intensifying Middle East conflict.
In a rare BBC interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg from the Iranian embassy near Hyde Park—haunted by the 1980 SAS siege that ended with five gunmen dead and 19 hostages freed amid casualties—Seyed Ali Mousavi said Tehran would invoke its “right to self-defence” if the UK joined U.S.-Israeli strikes directly.
He pressed officials “to be very delicate, very careful,” applauding Britain’s limit to allowing U.S. base access for defensive moves, unlike its “involved” role in the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Despite President Masoud Pezeshkian’s apology to Gulf states—criticised by hardliners as weak—Mousavi pledged ongoing hits on U.S. targets if assaults continue, viewing aggressor “facilities or properties or bases used against the Iranian nation” as legitimate targets.
He hinted at “willingness from the Iranian side not to strike, not to attack our neighbours” but tied retaliation to foes’ actions. “If the aggression continues there is no doubt we will defend ourselves.”
Entering week two, over 200 strikes have hammered Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, and a Cyprus RAF base, per Reuters and The Guardian. Saturday brought fresh Gulf missile intercepts amid oil spiking past $120 a barrel and Maxar images showing devastation.
Dismissing Trump’s surrender call, Mousavi portrayed Iran as responder, not instigator—a claim Western eyes view sceptically amid the broad fallout. No ceasefire appears imminent.