Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK has been summoned by the British Foreign Office after death threats were made against journalists in the country.
The Foreign Office believes Iranian security forces are behind the threats and called in chargé d'affaires Mehdi Hosseini Matin.
Iran International, a UK-based news channel, has said that two of its employees, both dual Iranian-UK citizens, were the targets of an increasing number of threats.
“I summoned the Iranian representative today to make clear that we do not tolerate threats to life and intimidation of any kind towards journalists, or any individual, living in the UK,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
Iran is currently cracking down on widespread protests that broke out following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody and it has taken aim at media outlets operating in Iran, the Foreign Office said.
More than 40 journalists in Iran have been arrested, it added.
Britain last month placed sanctions on senior Iranian security officials and the country's morality police, saying they had used threats of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public.
In the same month, the Foreign Office summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires over the crackdown on the protests.
London’s Metropolitan Police have also contacted a number of UK-based journalists after receiving credible information about threats to their lives.
It is understood that the meeting with the Iranian diplomat took place on Friday afternoon.
Iran International is highly critical of the Iranian regime and has placed it under increased scrutiny following the outbreak of the protests.
The Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have issued warnings for weeks to Iran International over its coverage.
