Iran has lodged a protest with Britain over attempts by anti-Islamic Revolution elements to disrupt the Islamic Republic’s 14th presidential election at polling stations in the UK.
Ali Matinfar, Iran's chargé d'affaires to London, announced on Sunday that the Iranian embassy sent a message of protest to the UK Foreign Office after hostile elements harassed voters during the first round of voting on Friday. The message also emphasized the need to ensure the security of Iranians in the upcoming runoff election.
Matinfar stated that he will address the issue in meetings with British Foreign Office officials this week.
On June 28, thousands of Iranians residing in the UK cast their ballots at 10 polling stations set up in cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Cardiff for Iran’s presidential election. During the voting, several hostile elements demonstrated outside polling stations and harassed voters, leading to the arrest of six rioters by UK police. Despite the disturbances, the voting process continued uninterrupted, and voters expressed strong opposition to the rioters' actions.
More than 24 million people participated in Friday’s election to replace Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19. Since no candidate secured the necessary votes to win, the top two candidates, Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, will advance to a runoff on July 5.
