Activist Vahid Beheshti has been urged to finish his hunger strike by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who said he was worried for the campaigner’s health.
Mr Beheshti, 45, is demanding that the UK designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Now on the 69th day of a hunger strike, he is no longer able to walk after surviving on a diet of water, coffee and a handful of sugar cubes.
Conservative MP Nicola Richards raised his case in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
“Vahid Beheshti is on his 69th day of hunger strike and was recently supported by 125 cross-party parliamentarians in his campaign to proscribe the IRGC”, which is “responsible for committing grotesque human rights abuses”, she said.
Ms Richards asked the Foreign Secretary if he acknowledged “the sense of urgency so many parliamentarians place upon the IRGC proscription”.
Mr Cleverly replied: “Mr Beheshti has met with ministerial colleagues, both in the Home Office and in the Foreign Office. I do worry about his health and would urge him to stop his hunger strike.
“With regard to Iran’s completely unacceptable behaviour, we have responded by sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety and certain leaders of the IRGC specifically.
“We will always take action which we believe to be in the best interests of the safety of British nationals.”
He added: “We, of course, always keep options available and under review.”
Last week, Mr Beheshti was invited into the Foreign Office, where he is camped, to speak to Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, about his protest.
He told The National that Mr Ahmad had said he wanted to work together on the issue, and urged him to end his protest.
Iran has plotted to abduct or kill at least 10 British citizens or people based in the UK, Britain’s domestic spy chief said last year.
Iran International, a television station that broadcasts stories critical of the regime, was forced to temporarily close its London office this year after journalists were threatened by the IRGC.
In Austria, protesters gathered outside Tehran’s embassy in Vienna on Tuesday, saying they were being kept in the dark on the fate of prisoners in Iran.
Iranian exiles and Green Party MPs demanded the release of rapper Toomaj Salehi and accused Iran’s ambassador of ignoring their requests for updates.
A sign with the slogan “women, life, freedom” was hung on a lamp post outside the ambassador’s office to “remind him every day” of the protesters’ demands, said Michel Reimon, MP.
