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The UK government has summoned the Iranian ambassador in response to the ongoing “brutal” killings of protesters in the country, the foreign secretary has said.
Thousands of people are feared dead or have been detained after a crackdown on anti-government protesters across Iran in recent days.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper outlined “the UK’s total abhorrence of the killings, the violence, and the repression that we are seeing”, and said she feared the death toll may be significantly higher than reported so far.
She also said the government would implement “full and further sanctions” against Iran targeting finance, energy, transport, software and other significant industries.
The Foreign Office has not specifically set out what form the new sanctions will take or when they will be put in place.
Cooper, who spoke directly to the Iranian foreign minister on Monday to convey the UK’s objections to the crackdown, said the decision to summon the ambassador on Tuesday came following “horrific reports” of violence overnight and to “underline the gravity of the moment”.
The protests, which began in December, were initially driven by economic hardship and rising inflation, but have since broadened into more widespread anti-regime rallies.
In response, Tehran’s security forces have hit back with heavy force, with live ammunition being used against crowds and a wave of arrests being made.
Last Thursday, Iranian authorities also imposed a near total internet blackout in an effort to suppress the unrest. As a result, Iranians have been almost completely cut off from the outside world.
The country restricts international news organisations from operating there, hampering efforts to independently verify the number of people who have died during the protests.
Cooper said the Iranian government was “peddling its manufactured narrative of foreign manipulation” and had portrayed protesters as criminals and terrorists.
She added: “The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest of terms the horrendous and brutal killing of Iranian protesters, and we demand that the Iranian authorities respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of their citizens.”
Cooper also said British officials were in contact with Iranian counterparts about UK nationals detained there.
