UK Defence Secretary Streeting Dismisses Iran's Terror Labels for the Royal Navy and RAF as 'Bare-Faced Cheek'
Berlin — UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting responded on November 2 to Iran's designation of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force as 'terrorist organisations,' calling the move 'bare-faced cheek' and saying diplomacy and de-escalation remained Britain's priority. He spoke at a joint news conference in Berlin with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
Streeting said the charge levelled by Iran at the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force 'doesn't really dignify a response,' adding that he was minded to take the press clippings of the accusations and put them up in his downstairs toilet 'as a trophy.' More seriously, he said Iran had a record of fuelling regional instability and engaging in state-sponsored acts of terrorism.
He said Britain remained mindful of the incident at RAF Fairford and of the threats coming from Tehran, noting how quickly Iran struck neighbouring countries that had nothing to do with US combat operations after the outbreak of the conflict between the United States and Iran. He said the UK had maintained diplomatic channels with Iran and was working towards de-escalation in the Middle East, and would continue to point Iran towards the diplomatic alternative.
Iran's foreign ministry announced on November 1 that it was designating the RAF and the Royal Navy as terrorist organisations and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) as a 'hostile group,' in response to what it called the British government's hostile actions against Iran, including Britain's decision to outlaw support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under its National Security (State Threats) Act 2026. Tehran said the British government would bear responsibility for the consequences. GSM reported Iran's designations on November 1, when Britain had not yet publicly responded; Streeting's remarks are the first formal British response.
Source: UK Ministry of Defence
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：英国国防大臣 Wes Streeting 官方肖像（2024年7月）。照片 OGL 3.0（Lauren Hurley／唐宁街10号），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, July 2024. OGL 3.0 (Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street), via Wikimedia Commons.
