Iran urges UK, France to heed veteran diplomats’ warning on Israel

Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in a post on X on Saturday.

He noted how the former diplomats had called for an end to arms transfers to the regime, a ban on trade with illegal settlements, and implementation of decisions by courts in The Hague.

The official added, “London and Paris must not hide behind the phrase ‘expressing concern’ over this situation. Continuing to supply arms and providing any form of support to the regime constitutes a conscious choice to cooperate with and participate in the Israeli regime’s crimes.”

The open letter, published earlier on Saturday by Le Monde, called on France and the United Kingdom to jointly sanction the regime and “act together to uphold international law in Palestine.”

The signatories include former British ambassadors to the United Nations, Jeremy Greenstock and Emyr Jones Parry, and former French West Asia directors, Yves Aubin de la Messuziere and Denis Bauchard.

The diplomats said Palestinian house demolitions and settler violence, which occur with the “connivance of the Israeli army and police,” amount to “ethnic cleansing.”

The letter called for suspending the European Union’s and the UK’s trade agreements with the regime, halting arms transfers and military cooperation, banning trade with illegal settlements, and restricting citizens from purchasing “property” on occupied Palestinian land.

It also called for guaranteed humanitarian access to Gaza through UNRWA and other UN agencies, as well as protected access for journalists, diplomats, and parliamentarians.

Nicholas Hopton, a former British ambassador to Iran, Qatar, and Yemen, said the immediate concern was settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

“There is a move” by Tel Aviv to “allow settlements to be created in the West Bank in a way that would almost realistically prevent a future Palestinian state being able to be created there,” he said.

The letter said France and Britain had recognized a Palestinian state in 2025 and argued that the recognition now needed to be “made real by urgent action.”

It also called for accountability for those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying, “Only then can our governments rebut the accusation of double standards.”

Hopton said the United States remained the most influential external actor, warning that continued inaction “will create a longer-term, irreconcilable problem and store up future violence and future tragedies.”